Antonio and the Beast
by Hospitalized Heartless
Summary: "For who really could learn to love a beast?", Spamano, Spain x Romano, Antonio x Lovino. Rated T for swearing and sexual humor.
1. Antonio

**(DISCALIMER: All content of this story belongs to their respectful owners.)**

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1. Antonio  
_…For who could ever learn to love a beast..._

Fairytales usually start off with the silly retellings of an old folk legend. Something of a poor and helpless character that is endanger, followed by the person reading the old legend getting them wrapped into the story by surprise. Then the reader becomes the legend's hero and the legend ends finally finishes with that whole 'once upon a time' and 'they lived happily ever after' charade. The difference for our protagonist was he knew about the story of the Beast. It wasn't something hidden from the rest of the world or known as just a story. It was a fact that someone in the woods just outside of their small little village had been turned into a horrible creature. The other difference was that… well… there was no one in need of saving- at first. The Beast was a cold, heartless monster that only had one goal: stay alone in the castle away from the villagers and do whatever it was that Beast did until it died.

The protagonist of this particular story has a name, as all of us do- no matter how one receives it. Normally, in stories such as these, the secret hero's name is supposed to be revealed at the end of the tale. But for the sake of effectiveness, his name shall be revealed: Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo, a twenty-one year old man who lives with his mother Elmira on the outskirts of their small village. He's often described as a walking ball of sunshine; a man with very little worries and always has a smile plastered to his face, no matter what the weather.

Today is no different: Antonio waving goodbye to a shop keeper as he walked out of their door with a basket of bread in hand. Malachite eyes glittered jovially as the tanned male walked the dusty streets of his Spanish town. A yawn escaped his lips every once in awhile, maybe a hand ran through his ear short chocolate curls. He looked like a normal man in all honesty. However, that didn't dismiss the awkward noises and shuffles of breaths as he walked along back to his own home, surely more rumors being spread about the man.

The sweet smell of basil and fresh garden herbs wrapped around him as Antonio opened the door to the cottage, a noise of satisfaction fleeting from the man's lips, shutting the door behind him. "Volví, madre!" Antonio called, setting the basket down on a table and glanced around for the source of life in his house. "Hola, sweet boy…" A tired voice called back to him.

Antonio turned his head to see a woman, much older than he was with graying hair sprouting from the bun of faded bark brown hair and sunken green eyes that had long lost its youth. Still, he smiled, walking up and hugging her. "How are the plants doing, mami?"

"The plants are doing fine, Antonio. Just like yesterday and the day before." She sighed, with a tired smile on her face, walking away from her son to a large fire place at the end of the room with a pot where a bubbling red mixture laid inside. Oh! Tomato sauce- his favorite! Despite his happiness about the tomatoes being in their dinner, Antonio couldn't help but still frown at his mother's tone and her actions. Antonio knelt down next to her as she started to stir the mixture. "You sound sad…" He opened his mouth to continue but his mother shoved a spoon in front of his face. "Stir." She dryly stated, slowly pushing up from the floor and shifting to the other side of the room to end up grabbing Antonio's loaf of bread he picked up at the market and start cutting it into slices.

Antonio frowned to himself but continued to stir the pot as he was asked and before long, deemed it stirred well enough and poured what men years later would call gazpacho onto the bread crusts. The brunet briefly noted that meat had been added to the plate. Elmira sat down in silence across from her son as he sat the large pot in the corner to be washed later and began to eat his own food. The silence became overbearing for Antonio. "Are you sure you're well enough, madre? I know you're supposed to leave town tomorrow but you don't have to go! I can go for you-"

"Antonio, I'll be alright." The middle aged widow smiled back to him, waving her hand in dismissal. "You don't have to worry about your old mother all the time, sweet boy. I just have to take a trip to the town over and I'll be back tomorrow."

"Si, madre…" The brunet shoved a cooled piece of tomato bread into his mouth and stared at Elmira for a long while, contemplating his next words. "It's just… I know you've been really lonely since dad died and…-"

Antonio wished the words had just receded back into his throat as he watched his mother's already dead eyes go dark and she stared back at her son. Guilt swelling up in his chest, Antonio tackled his mother and held her tight. "L-Lo siento, madre!" He nuzzled the woman's neck. "I didn't mean to bring it up! I just want to make sure you're okay and-"

"Antonio, shhhh…" Green eyes blinked as a withered hand began to rub gentle circles into his back, surprised to get this reaction from his mother. He remembered how much crying she did the day his father left their world for good. Antonio had only been ten when he came from the barn after feeding their livestock only to find his mother in tears and clutching his father's hand.

Antonio glanced to the side briefly as his mother pulled away from him. His untouched lute laid dust covered in the corner.

"I won't say I'm not lonely, Antonio, but I don't want you spending your whole life here taking care of me." His mother's soft voice broke their silence and the twenty one year old sighed as he was childishly kissed on his forehead. He smiled to himself. There were some things you can't just get away from, child or not.

"Sé que, madre…" The brunet sighed as he pulled away from himself and sat down in his chair to go and start eating once more. "It's just that I don't think I'm cut out for the simpleton life…" A load groan passed his lips. "No girl likes me here anyways and I don't think I could just spend my life doing the same thing over and over again and settling down with some woman!"

Antonio was graced with a snort from his mother and turned to see her malachite eyes alight with bemusement. "You should really rethink that Antonio. Destiny works in odds ways." An even rarer smile graced his mother's lips as she continued to pick at her small meal. Antonio paused to stare at her for a moment, head tilted in puzzlement and he shook his head, continuing their little altercation.

"But no girl even likes me!" A slice of tomato made it past the man's tongue and slowly into his stomach. "They all think I'm an idiot or that… I'd be no good in bed and that I'm too carefree to be able to hold up a marriage…" Antonio's face turned solemn and his mother sighed to herself, reaching over the table to pat her son's head. "Madre…" He frowned and looked up at her. "I just don't know why they won't give me a chance…I'm a kind person, right? It's odd that so many girls complain about their marriages because their husbands don't love them but when I try and be caring to another girl, I come off as some sort of disease no one wants to be around."

His mother cleared her throat, now finishing her food and went over to their basin to wash off the porcelain. "The offer still stands if you want to come with me, sweet boy. You might find the girl of your dreams at the next town over."

Antonio glanced at his mother and shook his head. "I want to madre but I need to take care of the house while you're gone. This is why I wish I could go to town and pick up things myself and you stay here!" He stood up with his barely finished plate and began polishing off the remains of the fruit and bread. "It would just be smarter…"

Elmira almost glared at her son, sighing to herself and setting the plates up to be used for their next meal. "Antonio- I really need to do this on my own. I need to get out of the house for awhile, alright?" She hugged her son for a fleeting moment before gesturing for the boy to follow her. "Now come and help me saddle Philippe, niño."

The brunet made a pout towards his mother but begrudgingly helped his mother out of the house and to the stables. He wasn't a child anymore… And he didn't act like one, did he? Their only stable horse, a brown colt immediately came out of his stall to greet them. After helping his mother get herself onto the surpringly tall animal, Antonio placed a bag full of food, a map and an oil lantern onto Philippe's saddle. "You sure you don't want me to go instead?" He asked his mother one more time and earned a frown and a shake of the head from Elmira. "Alright…" He frowned and kissed her cheek. "Come back safely, por favor? Te qiuero."

"Lo prometo, Antonio. Tambien te qiuero."

The sound of retreating hoof beats had never seemed so far away in all of Antonio's life.

…

Long hours passed, earning Elmira and Philippe a warm glow of the Spaniard's lantern as dark clouds and the moon's shadow loomed overhead. Dead tired eyes glanced upwards, sighing and continuing to walk the colt into a trot. "Just a little further, Philippe…" The elder smiled and patted the colt's flanks, much to the animal's delight. "I would say we should be at the village after one more turn and we can get you into a stall and out of the cold."

A snort of approval came from the barn beast and Elmira smiled warmly. It seemed easier to go about talking to her horse than her own son.

Elmira frowned at herself as the thought of her son crossed her mind. She worried about that boy in all honesty, as she should. Her son wasn't showing signs of finding a woman in his life or even showing signs of being able to take care of himself. He could go out of his way for someone else's safety and sacrifice his own happiness and would do anything for someone else if it meant their lives were better.

Elmira sadly looked amongst the trees. She was mostly worried about how her son would take care of himself when… she passed on. The thought struck a chord in Elmira's body as she wrapped her cloak tighter around her body.

The thoughts of her son dropped dead when she felt Philippe stiffen underneath his saddle and a large howl in the distance. "…Oh Dios." She immediately ushered cooing words to the colt but it was already startled and it began to take off in the other direction. "P-Philippe!" Elmira ordered, trying to regain a grip on her young horse but it was too late and her back met the unwelcoming ground as the beast stormed off in the other direction. "Philippe!" She screamed again, her voice going hoarse and the thirty-six year old woman went into a coughing fit on the ground.

The cold of the night was easier to bear when her horse was around her and, now that she noticed, her lantern still had oil in it. In the dim light of the night, Elmira saw with great sorrow that her lantern had broken when Philippe stormed off. Another cough escape the widow's lips and she weakly got herself off, brushing herself off and glanced around. She couldn't even see anymore. There were no sign posts, she didn't have a map and she couldn't see a clear path.

All that was for her viewing pleasure were large, withered trees and small streams of blue light coming from the moon.

"This cannot be happening…"

As if the world was mocking her- which it very well seemed like it at this point- more howls carried themselves through the trees, sounding closer. Dread swelled up in the Spaniard's stomach and to her horror, she saw patches of gray and black fur in the moonlight. It didn't even matter where she was going anymore; she had to get out of there.

Elmira raced through the woods as fast as her old bones could carry her without the occasional tripping on stone or a branch. If she was thinking coherently, she would've wondered how her cloak was able to fly behind her without getting caught by the wicked plants around her. Breath flew by her lips in short gasps as the beasts behind her quickly began to race after her.

The world gave Elmira a glimmer of hope however when the forest began to clear and the brunette was greeted with the full light of the moon. Jovially, the widow began to pick up her pace to the point where her bones ached and found herself at the edge of a small but steep cliff face. Elmira briefly noted that there was some sort of structure in the distance but more howls made the woman disdain the thought and make her way down the jagged rocks. As she hit the ground, her heart fluttered with relief to hear the faint scuffling of nails in the dirt. They were leaving…

Elmira sat on the ground weakly, stopped to catch her breath. After about five minutes of breathing, the Spaniard got herself back up again and stared wide eyed at the building before her.

Normally, Elmira would've gladly ran up to the castle and asked for any means of help but a thought occurred to her. Something was off about the castle. Voices of other villagers in their small town rang in her head about a castle in the woods but for the life of her, she could not remember the reason why.

Elmira sighed. She'd have to find somewhere else to stay in this weather…

Cold flakes landed amongst the brunette's nose and she blinked only to stare at the sky. Oh Dios… It was snowing. That wasn't going to help her if she was going to survive the night in the woods. Elmira wrapped her cloak tighter around her shivering body and began to walk away from the wrought iron gates in front of the old castle but was faced with even more horror when a loud growling came into her path.

The wolves hadn't retreated away. They only went down the other side of the cliff.

Faced with only once option, Elmira dove for the gates, managing to get the rusty lock around it to break and slammed it shut behind her. The beasts barked, yowling and pressing their bodies against the metal to try and break forth to attack the woman from behind. Her boots clung to the ground, trying to force the beasts from getting past her wall of defense. _Please give up, mutts… _She mentally prayed. _Please! _

Long moments passed at the dogs were still trying their hardest to get to the middle-aged woman. The brunette was faced with no other option. Letting go of the metal, she raced off towards the doors of the castle and threw them open before locking the wood behind her, safe and sound at last.

Her breathy gasps and the loud thumps of the door from the wolves filled the foyer of the castle as Elmira fought to catch her breath. Her lungs were on fire and her bones ached with a dull passion. Sweat began to trickle down her back, warm air finally circulating to her body. The thuds and thumps eventually began to die down and the woman finally got back up on her feet, stumbling about the castle.

It was so dark and it seemed even darker now than the forest. The only light of hope, literally, was the fact that several lit candlesticks lined the walls. "Hello?" Elmira called hoarsely. "Is anyone still here?"

"Go away! You're not welcome here!"

Elmira was snapped out of her state of trying to find her way around and immediately began to search around for the source of the voice. It sounded like it was coming from above her but… She looked overhead and only found the makings of a chandelier. The only other idea was that it was coming from all sides but that was just so incredibly ridiculous…

Fear settled into the back of the young woman's throat and she stopped her walking in order to see if she could beckon back the voice so she could find out. "P-Por favor, señor… Wherever you are…" Elmira gulped and looked around again. "T-There are wolves outside of your castle and I can't fight them off t-to get safely out… I don't have a horse or a lantern and it's highly u-unlikely I'll be able to find any other place to stay in this h-hour of the night… Can't you find it in your heart to let me stay here for the night? I d-don't care where it is so long as I have a roof on my head…"

There was a pregnant pause, a very unsettling one but eventually the voice resounded again, "Fine. You want to stay here?"

Elmira noted the fact that despite the husk around the male's voice, he sounded fairly young. She nodded to herself only to realize the man couldn't see her. "Si. I would…"

"Go upstairs to your left and down that hall; the last door on your left." The voice answered again and Elmira was left with the sound of footsteps.

The woman sighed relief, happy she somehow convinced someone she couldn't even see to let her blindly stay in their castle. If she hadn't been so tired and sore, Elmira would've honestly been more suspicious but the poor woman was in too much of a feebleminded state that she directly took a stairwell in front of her to her left like the voice told her to and took another left. She was greeted with another stairwell. In befuddlement, she slowly climbed her way up and was greeted with a bunch of stone walls, several different doors and one window carved in the stone of the parapet leading outside. "Que?..." She stared around to herself, still trying to process what seemed so off about the room she was in.

"Welcome."

Malachite eyes widened, letting out a yelp of being startled and turned slightly on her heel to see a shadowed figure standing at the stairwell. Before however she could make anything out, the figure stepped into a small ray of moonlight coming in from the cracks in the ceiling and her eyes widened it horror, only making out the color of red wine and two, what she assumed to be, eyes staring at her. "You said you didn't care correct?"

Elmira screamed as she was picked up by the back of her dress by _claws _and was thrown into one of the nearby rooms, feeling hay cushion her fall, the sound of a lock and receding footsteps from the bars at the bottom of the doors. Elmira's eyes were widened in terror as she watched through her only viewing box and she was left alone in the castle tower. Tears began to well up in her eyes and she sobbed. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have no realized it sooner?

She was sitting in the castle of the notorious Prince Lovino who had turned into a vicious and haggard beast after turning away and old woman to the cold. It turned out the woman was actually an enchanted fairy in disguise who saw there was no love in his heart; only selfishness and anger. He was left in the castle for the rest of his life until he died of old age and no one dared go after the beast because everyone feared him. It was even rumored that the beast had killed all of his old servants in anguish, leaving him all alone all those years.

Sobs wracked all parts of her body at the brunette criedagainst the stone of the walls. So this was how she was going to die, wasn't it? She was going to starve to death or be mutilated in some sick way. She was never going to see her sweet boy Antonio again and he was going to be left all alone, never knowing what happened to his poor mother.

Swollen green eyes stared at the top of the stone ceiling as her last words of the night bounced off the walls, "L-Lo s-siento E-Esta-b-ban… L-Lo s-sient-to s-sweet b-boy… I… I'm… I-I'm so sorry!"

The poor woman exhausted herself to sleep that night, crying too much for her mind and heart to take.

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**(A/N: Hi everybody! So the root of this new story was because I find it positively astounding how many people haven't written it where Lovino is the beast. I've seen several where Antonio is the beast and it just… unless it's conquistador!Spain/mentally unstable!Spain then it just doesn't work! I mean- the Beast from Beauty and the Beast was a selfish brat who was so spoiled he didn't have goodness is his heart and it makes more sense if you have Lovino be the prince! Yes- Spain still tops in this story but that's not the point. The point is you should always go with what personality fits- not what roles.**

**Reviews are very much appreciated and because I want to include a lot of things in this I would really like to see what you guys want to see happen in this one because I don't want to stay to the old, over-used Disney plot. O uO Also: Fanfiction won't let me but the realy title of this is supposed to be 'The Tomato Bastard and the Lovi' xD Enjoy and toodles everyone~)**


	2. Take Me Instead

**(DISCALIMER: All rights belong to their respectful owners.)**

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2. Take Me Instead  
_…you have my word…_

As the unknown terrors of Elmira were unbeknownst to the rest of Antonio's village, the sun raised high over the town the next morning as though nothing had ever happened. Antonio still woke up that morning, refreshed and alive after taking care of their small amount of livestock and cleaning the few articles of furniture Antonio and Elmira owned in their small cabin. He was blissfully ignorant of his mother being in held captive in a dungeon. Antonio had woken up that morning and immediately left for leave to go to work; this brings our story here: the servant ward of the Duke of Prussia's house where Antonio is cleaning off some dishes from last night's dinner.

"Hallo Antonio…" A voice muttered meekly behind him and Antonio blinked up from his work to see a small, pale blond child no older than seven staring at him with tired blue eyes. Antonio smiled to himself, waving to the boy. "Hallo, Ludwig. Wie geht's, Junge?" He had learned to speak some German over the time he spent in the Beilschmidt house.

"Es geht mir müde…" A yawn escaped Ludwig's tiny mouth as if to emphasize his statement. The brunet could only smile and brought Ludwig up onto the countertop next to him so he could talk to the boy easier and still continue working. "Aw…" He pouted, patting the boy's head with a dry hand and then swiping over a porcelain plate with a dry rag. "Did your brother keep you up last night?"

Antonio knew the reason why Gilbert had kept little Ludwig up but he could never mention it in front of the child. It's honestly quite sad when you work at a house where the man owning the place gets laid more than you even get a flirtatious glance.

"Ja… ein bissien…" The boy yawned again and Antonio sighed, putting the plate he'd been cleaning on a stack before drying off his wet hands and putting them up on shelves until they would be used for the next meal. "Well it's alright Ludwig." He grinned and picked the boy up again, earning a small smile from the boy. "Why don't you go and take a nap then and maybe once you've rested up some more, I can take you to that one book shop you love in the square of town."

An awe expression graced Ludwig's features and he nodded happily as the brunet placed him on the ground and he went to walk away- more or so less likely to his own room so he could take a nap and get away from his older brother. Antonio watched with curious eyes as the boy waddled away and shook his head. Oh well… He'd just have to keep true to his promise. "And then madre will come home again…" He smiled warmly to himself before readjusting the full length apron he was in and made his way outside to tend to the garden. He barely even got a sniff of cornflower before a loud and boisterous voice broke the silence. "Well, well! Looks like you're doing as good as a job as being a babysitter as you are a servant, 'Toni!"

The tanned male turned to see a flash of pearly white teeth and skin winking at him. "Well if you're going to have sex all the time and keep the poor child awake, then I have to do something about it."

Red eyes alighted with amusement, their owner snorting and running a hand through his frost colored hair. "Not my fault the girls I bring in are always obnoxious…" The Duke sighed, sitting down on a bench near his servant and patted a nearby spot for his friend. "Come and sit down for awhile. I really don't have much work for you anyways."

The brunet sighed and shook his head, pointing to the rest of Gilbert's flowers, clearly wilting. "I don't even care that you don't want me to do work; those flowers will die if they don't have care to them." Antonio stretched for a second before grabbing a pail and began to fill it with water, intending on watering the poor plants. "Well, you'll still talk to me right?" Gilbert called behind him. Antonio nodded and moved to a set of potted plants in the ground, sprinkling them with water and moving onto the next pot. "How's Elmira? You said she had to leave?"

The Spaniard continued to work. "Si, she left yesterday to go to the next town over. I wanted to go for her but she wouldn't let me-"

A startled gasp stopped the two from talking and malachite eyes flicked up from his current watering of some carnations and a startled servant hung in the doorway to Gilbert's gardens. The Duke frowned at this, standing up and turning on his heel to the other servant. "Was ist es?"

Antonio tried to listen through the garble of German, slight cursing and random hand signals coming from both men but he couldn't understand. The only thing he got out of it was there was something going on out front and it was causing a ruckus. Thankfully, his albino friend turned to his aid. "What happened?" Antonio frowned and his friend slowly led him to the front of the castle, laughing bitterly. "You're not going to believe this- A little brown colt is causing a huge ass ruckus in front of the castle. I think his name's Philippe- At least that's what the servant said was on its bridal."

A stone dropped to Antonio stomach, eyes widening and he immediately bolted in front of the Duke to see, in fact, a frantically neighing horse. As to confirm Antonio's suspicions and make that stone in his stomach worse, the horse immediately trotted up to him, nuzzling his hand against its nostrils and nipped at his clothes as though to tug him along.

Elmira was not on Philippe's back.

"P-Philippe?... Calmáte … Donde es mi madre, E-Elmira?" The brunet's voice shook horribly and he noted with disdain that several other servants started to crowd confusedly around the two of them. To make matters even more worse, little Ludwig turned the corner to walk outside, sleepily rubbing his eye again and joining himself at his brother's side. "G-Gilbert?... I need to go. N-Now."

Gilbert frowned, raising an eyebrow but before he could ask, little Ludwig asked for him. "B-But Antonio," The little boy grew more impatient as he watched his Spanish friend begin to mount the colt. "I-I thought you said you were going to take me to that bookshop today…"

It broke Antonio's heart to look back into those blue and highly disappointed eyes but the green eyed man had to pull through and shook his head. "L-Lo siento Ludwig… I-I'll make it up to you- I-I promise!" Antonio immediately snapped the horse's reigns and Philippe turned and bolted off.

Right now, not even the fastest race horse in the world could stop Antonio from charging into the woods in search of his mother.

…

Philippe and his rider's search for Elmira ended when Antonio tugged on Philippe's reigns to stop him from charging off a cliff. The air had turned dark and crisp, sending the cold to billow through his loose shirt. He completely regretted that he hadn't brought his cloak with him because at this point, he was going to get hypothermia. In addition, the clouds had turned into a dark grey blanket overhead, blocking out any of the moonlight from behind it. Antonio was fairly lucky his horse had better eyesight than he in this weather.

The brunet shivered as he stood there upon the cliff, over viewing a large and decrepit castle in front of him, the quality of its towers and walls were worse for wear with dead ivy crawling up and through its foundation. The garden life out in front was so brown and chipped, it looked almost impossible to bring it back to life. Antonio would've dismissed it from his mind and told Philippe to continue going off in search of his mother but his horse kept its hoofs firmly planted into the ground.

"Philippe…. You… You can't be serious, can you?..."

His horse shook his head and his eyes widened in fear before gulping and looking back at the castle. "M-M… M-Madre's in there?..."

Antonio wasn't as feebleminded as his mother at this point and the meaning of the castle didn't elude him. His memories were briefly stolen away to a part of his mind where a nine year old Antonio lay cuddled around a father with his much younger mother and his still alive father, Esteban Hernandez telling him a story about 'The Beast'. He spun a tale of all of the rumors in the town about the beast; everything from being completely heartless and turning away the beautiful and kind fairy down to the vicious retellings of blood being splattered everywhere as Lovino went on a massive killing rampage. At that point, Elmira permanently scowled at Antonio's father, slapped him hard on the fact and little Antonio looked around as he pretty much had no clue of what just went on. Antonio gulped. His mother just couldn't be in the same exact place as that beast was.

The brunet was snapped out of the memory when his brown colt took a step forward and with dexterity Antonio didn't even know was possible for the animal to have, it landed at the bottom of the cliff face without breaking a single sweat. The brunet turned his face to the large set of gates in front of him and gulped before dismounting his horse. "Stay here, Philippe…" He smiled and pat the horse's flanks weakly. "I'll be back with madre as soon as I can."

Antonio the proceeded to bolt out in front of the castle, scowling when he couldn't get the door open at first but eventually managed to pry the wood open to give him entrance. The Spaniard was then greeted with a very expansive foyer and one dimly lit staircase as the door closed shut behind him. He was puzzled when he found it was a lot warmer in here than expected and started to walk around. "Hola?..." He called, cupping his hand to the side of his face. "Madre? Madre- Are you here?!"

As Antonio continued to wander around several long corridors and yelling through several hallways and dead ends, he was unaware that there was a figure watching him from the sidelines. The candlestick had been busying itself with sitting on a table, trying to look normal when Antonio rushed past it, leaving it blank and just staring off where it went. The candlestick then proceeded to smirk to itself before hopping off in a western direction, simply pleased.

The Spaniard ran for a long while before coming to another set of stairs, panting and exhausted and hoarsely yelling out his mother's name. "Madre!" He called. "Por favor- Are you there?!"

His thoughts could only be filled with fear that she was either not here or that she was dead.

As one last chance for hope, Antonio saw a lot more candlesticks running up this stairwell and gulped once more before running up the stairs to a room covered in stone, bits of hay and lit torches lining the walls with one open window staring outside. "Madre?..." His voice was barely above a whisper. "Are you there?"

"Antonio?... Antonio! Is that you my sweet boy?!"

His eyes widened as he turned gently on his heel to see two pairs of hand and a slightly obscured face protruding from bars at the bottom of one of the room's many doors. Antonio immediately bolted to the outstretched hands, gasping them tightly and hugging as much of the figure as he could, feeling his heart break in two when he heard soft sobs coming from his mother. "Oh madre…" Antonio choked out, grasping the cold hand tightly. "You're freezing. I'm so glad I-I found you before you got hurt!"

Elmira shook her head, grasping back tightly at her son before blinking and shoving him away. Antonio, startled, went back to hug her again but Elmira held her hands out of keep him away. "You need to leave Antonio, it's not safe here!"

"No madre!" For once in his life, Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo actually _scowled _at his mother. "I'm not leaving without you! Who's done this to you?!" The brunet growled to himself when his mother didn't immediately answer and began to search around for some sort of locking mechanism on the door.

What happened next, being thrown into the nearest pillar was the biggest surprise.

Antonio's head, heart and body pounded as his nerves collided with the cold stone of the structure, a loud groan emitting from his diaphragm as he slid to the floor. His arms and legs were now prickled with goosebumps, all of his hair standing on end as he tried to figure out just what the hell caused him to be working on getting his mother out of a cell one second again and then flying through the air the next.

"Who the hell are you?! Get out of my castle!"

A garbled shriek and a booming voice both hit Antonio's disoriented ears at the same time, causing the man to feel even worse for wear. He shakily stood up, getting back onto his own two feet and shook his head to get his vision back in check. When he looked across from him, Antonio was still under the impression he couldn't be seeing clearly.

He was in front of something; a very large and well postured creature that was shaggy and blurry on all of its edges. From the back cast of the moonlight and candles from the other side of the room, Antonio noted the color of the creature was made up of a color assimilate to burgundy. The shape of the creature was pretty too; there were two symmetrical triangles on the top of its form and some sort of tick bludgeon where its hand should be.

"Did you hear what I said dumbass or are you going to continue to stare!?" A lethal growl returned Antonio to his alert state. "I said get the fuck out of my castle before I rip your mother to shreds!"

Antonio's eyes widened and he immediately stood in front of his mother's cell to protect. "M-my name's Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo and I'm not leaving u-unless you let my mother go!" This displeased the creature greatly as more scowls emitted from it but Antonio couldn't care less. He had to get his mother out of here! "She can't stay here!" He continued. "She's going to die at this rate- please, let her go!"

"Antonio…" The brunet bit his lip, hearing his mother whimper from the floor of the cell. Silence swept over the room and Antonio shuddered to notice two eyes the color of dark amber. "I-I'll do anything…" He stated again, this time quietly and sincerely. He needed his mother out of here. He couldn't care about himself right now. He could handle anything that came his way but he knew for a fact his mother couldn't.

Antonio looked up just in time to receive a calculating gaze from the nameless creature. "You said you would do anything for her release, correct?" It took a moment for the words to sink in and Antonio dumbly nodded. This conversation almost felt as though he was stuck in the middle of a tide. He was moving so slowly but he was so close to being hurt if he didn't get out of it quick enough. His eyes widened in shock as he actually felt his stomach roll like a wave.

"Alright then. I'll set her free and you'll be her replacement."

Before Antonio could react further, his mother tightened a grip on his hand. "No Antonio- por favor! I can't let you do this!"

The brunet felt so confused and everything came to a stop all of a sudden. If he didn't take up this man's offer and become his own prisoner, he would leave and his mother would die alone. He would return to their town a coward and absolutely no one would ever want to marry him nor could Antonio ever receive a job for people would find out about his cowardice and not hire him. He figured even Gilbert wouldn't accept him if he came back.

At least if his mother got out she could live. She could go and find herself a job, people would take pity on her son's death and they would hire her immediately. Gilbert could even take her in too and she could take care of little Ludwig for him. Do all of the things he couldn't do with him and take care of everyone like she had him for so many years.

The answer was so obvious but it took so long for him to say it. "…You have my word."

"Good." The Beast threw Antonio aside, the Spaniard already feeling so lost and empty at the moment and Antonio lamely watched his mother get dragged away. He reached his hand out to her, watching hot tears run down her face. He mustered up a reassuring smile, clenching her hand once more before the Beast dragged her off. As he heard the echoes of footsteps, Antonio heard a door slam and lock behind them, leaving him alone. He slumped down onto a pile of hay on the ground as he heard his mother's cries and sobs for the Beast to stop.

Antonio's skin flushed hot with anxiety and he stared out of the window to notice a fresh coat of snow had fallen on the ground. Salty tears as hot as coals in a fire trekked down his face and he watched in horror as his mother was thrown to the ground and shoved past the gates into the castle. The last he saw of Elmira was her mounting Philippe, looking up at what he assumed to be himself and trotting off.

Antonio clutched onto the stone of the parapet like his life depended on it and he wept silently.

Well now isn't this just the tale of all that is sad and cruel. A poor boy who just wants to be accepted and find his own place in the world just lost the only thing close and dear to him because the terrible Beast of the castle had torn mother and child apart. He was left sobbing all alone in the tower of the castle as though he was the distraught princess and now the Beast was the main villain.

Lovino scowled as he watched the random woman trot off with her son's horse, rolling his eyes. Finally, he got rid of the annoying woman. At least this new guy wouldn't be as annoying as a prisoner and hopefully he could just stay in the west wing for the rest of the time until the man died of starvation or something. At least he didn't have to hear to the constant sobs and whining.

A loud yawn escaped his mouth as his clawed feet made its way over the thick carpet trails, having gotten used to the feeling of paws on his feet over the countless years since the incident. He really would just love to take a nice nap right now and just go back to bed as he was going to until he heard that dumb bastard burst into his house. Jeez- what the hell was wrong with them?! Hadn't they learned to just stay the hell away from his castle already?

Lovino was about to climb up his stairs and turn to his bed chambers in the west wing when he heard a sound similar to choking and wailing and groaned. "Gesu christo- you've got to be fucking kidding me." This fucker was sobbing just as much as his mother was! There was no way in hell he was going to sleep with that in the background and he certainly wasn't going to just wait it out. At least he could try and move the bastard to the east wing or hell, the servant's ward and he wouldn't be able to hear the male's cries anymore.

A part of Lovino told him that he was actually being considerate to the man, knowing the feeling all too well of having something he loved so dear stolen away from him and sighed, throwing open the door that lead to the dungeon stairwell and climbed them. Antonio- that was the bastard's name wasn't it?- had seemed to have merged with the parapet because his arms were draped out of the window, collecting flakes on his tanned skin and turned the bottom of it a sickly red. The man was going to catch ammonia at this rate and damn it all if Lovino didn't want to have to get rid of a dead body- especially if it froze to the stone of the wall. And just what the hell was with all of this anyways?! As far as he remembered from throwing the man into a wall, he was several inches taller than him and looked to be about his age if not older! What the hell was this- this guy was such a pansy!

Our protagonist hadn't noticed that someone had walked in and up the stairs and continued to sob and cry over his resting place. "I-I'm so sorry madre.. P-Please take care of yourself… P-Please…"

"Idiot… Follow me. I'll take you to a room better than this."

Antonio blinked, startled and turned his flushed face to see the figure of the Beast once more staring at him. He swiped at his nose and frowned, not quite understanding what the man said. "Q-Que?..." He wondered aloud and slowly stood. He received a scowl in response and the figure began to walk away. "I said I'm taking you to a different room. Do you want to sleep in this fucking tower all the time or what?"

The brunet lifted his head from his crying place and stared at the Beast's retreating figure- he'd forgotten that name of the Prince in the story of the Beast, therefore he didn't know what the man's name was- and paused for a moment. He wasn't going to just stay in the tower as the man's prisoner? He slowly got up and meekly followed the figure, noting he was slightly taller than the beast blindly leading him along through the corridors as they passed by several doors. Antonio gulped after looking around and seeing all of the odd and grotesque looking statues and briefly noted some torn canvas on paintings. _He really did go crazy didn't he?_ The Spaniard thought to himself.

The pair stopped abruptly in front of a large red oak door and the man in front of him started to walk away, opening the door and shoving Antonio inside of it. "W-Wait!" The brunet called just in time to see the man turn on his heel and glare at him in the dark with large amber optics. "I-I uh… W-What's your name s-so I know what to call y-you?"

He received a scoff in reply, a shake of a head and the man continued to stalk off. "Why the hell would you want to know that? It's not like I'll be talking to you much…" The man paused for a moment, seemingly reconsidering his words. "…If you really must know- my name's Lovino. Now just wait in your room until one of my servants comes and fetches you for dinner."

Something in the back of Antonio's mind clicked as he watched Lovino turn a corridor and become out of sight, the man shutting his door and looking around. This room was incredibly… posh and amazing. It caused the Spaniard's mouth to actually drop in astonishment. The room was larger than his own house! And Antonio was supposed to be a prisoner?!

Antonio plopped down on his new bed, frowning, something still bothering him in the back of his mind as he turned his head to face the window outside. From what he remembered of the story of Prince Lovino, once Lovino was turned into a beast he brutally murdered all of his servants… Were parts of the story not true or…

The Spaniard bit his lip and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep. He would just have to wait and see. After all, he would be staying here for awhile if he was going to be Lovino's 'prisoner', wasn't he?

Antonio had to have been out for longer than he expected because upon waking up, it was almost pitch black outside with a large sheet of snow sitting over the window. "O-Oh…" Antonio grunted upon getting up from the bed, even though he felt well rested. He then proceeded to walk to the door, opening it and frowning. There was still no one there. Sighing, Antonio shut the door again and looked around. He then caught a look at his clothes and frowned. He was still in his servant clothing, wasn't he?

There was a drawer lying about in the corner of the room, leading Antonio towards it and upon opening it, the brunet found a new set of several sized tunics, pants and several vests. He smiled. Well if Lovino gave him this room as his own, he assumed everything in it was his right? So long as he didn't bother Lovino. Slightly satisfied with his answer, Antonio went to pull out a pair of breeches and a long tunic and blinked when he saw a door at the end of the room. His curiosity got the better of him and his eyes widened when he opened the door to find a large, porcelain bathtub with several bath oils and towels everywhere and a laminating oil lantern. There was even a faucet and something similar to a fire place on the side of the walls. Needless to say, Antonio abused this feature of his new living space as well.

Just as Antonio left the tub smelling of roses and was redressed, a small knock came to his door. Green eyes blinked as he waltzed over to the golden door handle and opened it up. He pouted again to find no one and sighed, picking up his bare feet and went to go and shut the door again. "Down here." A voice called and Antonio turned around again to stare in shock as a _talking _candlestick smiled at him. There was several strands of wax stinking out from the main candle wick, as though there was hair. To make matters worse, Antonio could see a face in the wax. "A-Am I… A-Am I seeing things?..." Antonio whispered and knelt down to the object, gently picking up the base of the handle.

"Non, mon ami. I'm about as real as you are.. I used to be a regular man like you until a curse fell upon this castle and I was changed into this."

Antonio almost dropped the candle in astonishment and tried to keep his grip on the object. The curse he must have been talking about was when the fairy cursed Lovino. Had it affected the servants there too? Antonio gulped and slowly stood up with the candle, shutting his door behind him. "Are you a servant here?" The Spaniard frowned. "I thought… I thought Lovino killed all of his servants."

A snort of surprise and disapproval came from the candle and the object sighed. "…What have they been feeding your poor brain? As far as I'm concerned, Lovino would never hurt anyone. He never has."

The brunet frowned at the candle's statement and shook his head, not believing it himself before watching the object sigh and hop out of Antonio's hand. "Just follow me, s'il vous plâit. Je m'apelle Francis, if you wish to know." Antonio reluctantly followed Francis as he was led around the castle to a dining room and watched the candle hop on top of a fire place and rest there, looking seemingly innocent. In front of Antonio was a large table fitting almost thirty chairs filled to the brim with several different foods. The Spaniard was in complete awe. He was truly receiving a gracious gift right here and he had no idea why.

"Finally got your ass down here didn't you?" Lovino called from his side of the table. "I was starting to wonder if you died on the trip down here."

Antonio would have replied but there was a difference now than before whenever he had gone and talked to Lovino. Before, the male had always been obscured by some sort of shadows and you couldn't fully see him. Now, in the full light of the fireplace laminating the room, he could see every detail of the main. First off, he wasn't wearing a shirt and what would've been a lithe human chest laid patches of red and matted fur covered all from his chest to his forearms. Where a human hand should be lay clawed paws and his feet were replaced with the hackles of a wolf with only a small pair of pants dressed his slightly more human legs. Last but not least, a human face of olive skin, tanned lips and gold eyes were adorned with two furry ears on top of his wine colored hair.

He was actually more interested in what Lovino looked like in full light rather than frightened but Lovino certainly didn't see it that way and scowled, turning his head. "Just sit the hell down and eat, fucker."

A frown spread across his face, obviously worried about the male's colorful vocabulary and took a seat two seats down away from Lovino. He noted there was a large amount of tomato dishes here. There was pasta with a tomato sauce, a tomato sauce on its own near some bread slices and even whole tomatoes to just pick up and eat. Antonio salivated. This was… Was he sure he was still awake or was he still dreaming?

"U-Uh…" Antonio gingerly reached out across the table, looking at Lovino as he shakily grabbed a tomato, still unbelieving all of this. When he was able to sit down with the tomato in his hand, he realized that he could, in fact, eat the tomato and gingerly swallowed a piece of the fruit. He hummed as a sweet flavor hit his taste buds and turned to Lovino. "T-Thank you… for the food…" He awkwardly tried to smile at the male. "I know you didn't have to give me it b-but it was very… kind of you…"

He received a blank and annoyed stare from the ex-Prince. "…Well I can't really let you starve, can I bastard?" Lovino sighed, picking up a fork with skilled fingers and slowly munched on a forkful of spaghetti. "You're pretty stupid, you know that? I mean, really." He leaned back in his chair, turning his head to the man and suddenly becoming interested in the glow of the fire. "I might be a monster but I'm not _evil _or something."

Antonio blinked and stared for a long time at the man. A part of him kept begging for him to see that the man was human too but then he remembered what happened to his mother and he forced the idea down. He still didn't trust this man. He finished his devouring of the fruit in his hand before continuing. "I-I'm sorry for assuming you were…" The brunet reached out for a piece of bread and slowly chewed upon that too, swallowing and glanced back up at his dinner guest. "It's just… you're keeping me here as a prisoner… I guess I just kind of assumed…"

"Well don't assume. It's rude." Lovino blessed the man with another glare and reached for a tomato himself to eat. Despite the fact that he had claws, Antonio observed, he seemed to take care of everything with a fine gentleness. "And yes, you are my prisoner and you _will _be staying in your room at most times but... other than that you will be treated like a guest." Lovino snorted and amber irises met his. "And that means you'll be getting decent meals, got it?" Antonio nodded, slightly satisfied with that answer and the rest of the dinner continued with silence other than some garbled small talk about tomatoes but Lovino never answered to that one. It would seem he was done with talking.

After using a handkerchief underneath his plate to wipe off his fingers and his bowl was clean of any food content, Antonio pushed out of his chair and stood up, glancing back at the silent Lovino. "Well… I suppose I'll be going to my room..." He frowned, biting his lip and looking back at Lovino's always intrigued and meticulous gaze. "I really just have one question though..." The brunet played mindlessly with his fingers. When I'm not forced to stay in my room... can I explore other parts of this castle? They seem very interesting..."

At first, Lovino's answer was immediate. "No, you can't." He ordered. Antonio sighed, disappointed and curious as to how he was going to stay busy if he was going to stay here as long as he was before blinking and hearing a sigh from the Beast once more. "Fine, but stay away from the west wing. It's in ruins and it's very dangerous to be in."

Antonio never actually noticed that he gave the Beast a smile and nodded. "Oh... okay!" The tanned male gave the red crowned male a wave. "Buenos noches, Lovino."

The brunet left the room before he could hear a further word from Lovino and sighed up walking back up around the castle. He was about to go and look around, but a loud yawn interrupted his thoughts. He was still tired? Antonio paused in the middle of the hallway and glanced around. It took him almost twenty minutes before he refound his room and hit the bed with a loud groan. The bed was just so incredibly comfortable.

All of his thoughts fluttered from his brain as he slowly fell asleep in his new home, unaware of just how much the events of today would change his life.

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**(A/N: Holy fucking shit- this chapter is almost six thousand words! –does happy dance- I went up by almost two thousand! I feel accomplished! QUQ So- I pretty much promised myself that I would update this story every Sunday since I'm not busy at all on the weekends and I really wanted to put in a Christmas special in this story and with the way things are currently playing out right now, that may in fact happen! –squeals- I'm also very happy at not only all the views I got over the last week but my two lonely reviewers, favoritetors ((Damnit- it's a word)) and followers! –sobs in happiness- You make me all so happy and I didn't think this story would get that much credibility so fast and I absolutely love every single little thing you guys do. O UO**

**I really would like to see any suggestions! I'm open to any ideas and even if I don't end up using them, I'd like to at least be able to think about different things! **

**And what may Francis and Lovino be scheming up, hm?~ =u = I know but you don't- aha~ xD You shall meet many more people next time on this 'what is this I don't even know' story~ Oh! And I'm also wondering if people want me to start putting Translations at the bottom. I think they're pretty self explanitory but they might be confusing where people just want a referance to make sure of. -nods- Hasta la pasta, my friends~)**


	3. Nothing but a Monster

**(DISCALIMER: All content of this story belongs to their rightful owners.)  
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3. Nothing But a Monster  
_…__ Go away; from this room, from this castle. Anything, just go away and leave me alone.__…  
_

There's something odd about always having to describe the differences in how people wake up and it always seems like the writer has to make some weather intended either for or against our protagonist's mood. Thankfully for this story, no matter what, Antonio will always wake up to the darkness- even in the morning- because Lovino's castle with always and forever be surrounded by the wake of the fairy's curse.

No sunshine came through the windows the morning the Spaniard woke up. There was no stream of light to hit the brunet straight in the eye and force him to wake up and start the day. Instead, there was a lighter glow outside as though to signify morning but the area around the castle was still as dull as ever. More so, there was a large amount of frost on the windows so nothing was really getting into his window. That's why when the Spaniard did finally wake up, he still thought it was the dead of night.

The male lazily sat up, rubbing against his tanned eyelids and curling against the satin bed sheets, he blinked and looked around. Though he was still disorientated from sleep, he could make out that this was certainly not his bedroom due to the wide open space and the more than comfortable bed. "Que?..." He pondered aloud until he remembered where he was and sighed, flopping against the piece of furniture. So all of last night had been real?

He was still stuck in a castle with a 'monster' that was enchanted by a fairy's curse? The idea of it all was completely absurd.

Still, the Spaniard dumbly sighed and brought himself from the bed sheets, stretching and walking around. A loud clock chimed in the distance six times, signaling it was pretty early in the morning but Antonio was used to waking up this early due to his servitude to Gilbert.

Green eyes blinked in remembrance and he bit his lip in sadness and he trudged across the floor of the room to get himself bathed. Not only did he leave his mother alone yesterday night but he also left Gilbert and poor little Ludwig alone. Perhaps he had a lot more than he appeared to have back at home?

Boiling himself some hot bath water and then waiting for it to cool, Antonio shuddered loudly as he was attacked with a stinging sensation on all sides. The man slipped further into the bathtub, looking up at the stone ceiling and contemplated more on his situation. He thought for a moment and then snorted. "As if there's really anything to think about… I'm a prisoner treated like a prince here…"

After choosing a bath salt of the smell of lavender, Antonio dried himself off and put on a comfy maroon jerkin and some dark brown breeches before heading through the door of his room and wandering around the halls of the castle. He wondered if Lovino was awake or even where he was right now. "Hola?" Antonio cupped a tanned hand to the side of his mouth and frowned. "Anyone arou-"

In the midst of his walking, Antonio had no idea where he was going and blinked when he heard a shrill screech from underneath his bare foot and something akin the wood against his sole. "OI!" It yelled from beneath him and Antonio shrieked, hopping off and away from the object and landing on his butt on the carpeted floor. "What the bloody fucking hell do you think you're doing?! You just stepped on me!"

Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo blinked and saw just what he stepped on: a feather duster of pale yellow feathers and animated acid green eyes boring into his soul. Antonio gulped. Was he a servant like the candlestick he'd met earlier? The brunet quickly got up to apologize. "Lo siento, Mr. Feather duster!" e frowned and gently picked him up, sitting him against a wall. "I didn't realize where I was walking and I-"

"Yeah, that's what they always say-" The feather duster continued to rant. "'Oh, I'm so sorry Arthur for being so close to you~' Yeah, I'm sure you'll be sorry when I melt you, you perverted little..." "M-Melt me?!" Antonio scowled at the object. "But I did nothing to you! I accidentally stepped on you and I said I'm sorry!" "What the hell are you going on about?" The yellow feather duster huffed and opened its green eyes again. "Francis- if this is a dumb one of your tricks again I'm not…"

Arthur blinked when he looked up to see a far taller _human _male looking at him with pleading and apologetic malachite eyes. "Oh…" He frowned. "You're not Francis…" He instead raised a thick eyebrow at the man. "Just who the hell are you supposed to be? Last time I remembered there were no humans in this castle except for some elderly Spanish woman…"

"That was my mother.." He frowned, sitting down next to the enchanted cleaning device. "I was taken prisoner here shortly afterwards when I went to save her…" Despite the grim topic, a smile came upon the man's lips. "I'm Antonio by the way- pleased to meet you."

The feather duster deadpanned. "Righto… My name's Arthur. Please don't bother me." The brunet was going to go on when, miraculously, the feather dust _hopped _off and away from him and turning the corner, clearly not wanting to be bothered. Antonio frowned, slowly standing up and staring in the direction where the feather duster had… floated off? _Mom, dad?... _Antonio thought to himself. _…This castle is really weird!_

The rest of the morning was just an uneventful. Upon thinking he had to go downstairs for breakfast, he opened the dining room to find nothing there- not even a lit flame on the fire. He continued to wonder aimlessly around until it was about ten in the morning, frowning. Well so far, today was going to be blatantly uneventful. Antonio was about to twist on his heel to turn a corner when a sobbing, clatter and a shrieking noise caught his attention.

"Oh Feli, don't cry baby! You didn't mean to know down the tray, it just kind of happened, that's all!"

Upon following the noise, our protagonist ended up in an area similar to a kitchen with stone tiled flooring that glittered with shattered porcelain and a teapot and a tea cup stood over it and… was the tea cup sobbing? Antonio observed from the doorway and watched water leak out from what would be a person's brown eyes. Yup… It was a crying teacup. Antonio felt his maternal instincts kick in, hearing the teacup sob and sound like a child so he had to assume it was a little boy that had been turned into a teacup and the brunet immediately ran over to him and gently picked up the piece of porcelain. "Oh don't cry, little one!" He cooed, stroking its side. "It's okay-"

"Hey!" A booming voice broke out from Antonio's coddling of the cup and he almost dropped the poor thing. "Put Feliciano down! I was taking care of it, he's just a little boy, that's all!"

Seeing the near steaming teapot mother, Antonio gingerly placed the teacup back near her and the enchanted piece of pottery hid behind her, though occasionally tilted what would be its head to peak out at him from behind his mother. "L-Lo siento!" The Spaniard held up his hands in defense but the angry mother wasn't persuaded and Antonio bit his lip. "I-I'll help clean this up…" He explained and quietly bent to one knee and began to pick up the shattered bits of whatever had fallen to the floor. All the while, he felt the mother's eyes upon him like a hawk and he eventually threw the pottery into a nearby barrel to be disposed of later. "I didn't mean to cause you or… F-Feliciano trouble…" He explained. He certainly didn't do anything wrong and he didn't want people to be mad at him! Especially if this castle was his new home…

Surpringly, a fit of laughter came from the woman's vivacious mouth. "You really are something, aren't you?" For a moment, she turned her shiny white back to him and nudged the teacup boy into a cabinet where he seemed content to be and Feliciano closed his eyes in sleep. She then returned her attention to Antonio, frowning now. "It's fine, I know you were only trying to help. I was just being an over-protective mother…" A nervous laugh came from her lips. "Thanks for helping me clean up, child."

Antonio sighed in relief and nodded to the pot before taking a seat next to her on one of the countertops. "It isn't a problem miss~" He grinned before a thought occurred to him and he paled. "U-Uh… A-Are all the objects in the castle c-cursed?"

Olive green eyes blinked up at him and the woman laughed and shook her head. "No- not all of them. The porcelain Feli shattered earlier was regular porcelain- not a real person." A weight lifted off Antonio's shoulders and he visibly relaxed against the marble beneath him. However, he was still kind of disturbed considering he had been talking to magical candlesticks, a feather duster, a beast who used to be a man and shiny tea serving materials. "You had me worried for a second…." He slowly nodded and the woman seemed to understand his anxiety. "So um…" Antonio bit his lip to try and start conversation but the woman answered for him.

"Do you want to know about how the castle got cursed or something?"

Malachite eyes blinked and looked back down into concerned but serious olive irises. He thought about it for a moment. Though he already knew the story of the beast, he thought back to yesterday when there were servants running around when the people of his village said they were murdered. Perhaps he could get the different or real story from this woman/teapot? He nodded in acknowledgement and nudged the girl to continue.

"You see, our master is just a little bit rude. He was being rude to a fairy when she asked to stay in the castle and she cursed the whole castle," A sigh came from her lips. "It's not that he hadn't let her in the castle and let her stay, he was just cursing and being snippy."

Antonio raised his eyebrows, not quite expecting that. Lovino had just been snippy?... That wasn't what he heard! The Lovino of his story wanted nothing to do with the beautiful and kind fairy who came to his doors and had tried to force violence upon her to get off of his grounds. She said she would turn him into something befitting of his heart: a monster and then Lovino had stayed here alone for the rest of his life! It was odd for the farm boy to even think of his Lovino as being the same one he was currently living with; the one who had given him good food, a nice place to live and, though taken him prisoner, let him roam freely as he wished so long as he didn't leave!

"Um…" Antonio tried to process all of this and dumbly stared at the pot. "A-Are you sure the master of your house is Lovino?"

The pot snorted in amusement and didn't notice that Antonio was sincerely confused. "Mm hm. Lovino inherited this castle from his grandfather. All of us used to work for Romulus and when he died… Well, we just never bothered to find any new jobs and Lovino was nice enough to keep us around." A smile claimed her mouth. "He's really very sweet when you get to know him."

That answer certainly didn't help his confusion and, though Antonio knew he would come off as rude, reiterated his question. "a-Are you sure you aren't just making Lovino sound nice to persuade me into something?..."

Her expression immediately changed into a scowl, clearly the woman being flabbergasted before she paused and seemed to realize something. "…What's your name boy?"

Happy to get off on a different subject of conversation, Antonio grinned again and easily answered. "Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo! I live…_lived _w-with mi madre off the outskirts of this forest in the nearest town…" The woman seemed to recognize something and 'ah'-ed to herself before shaking her head. "Those villagers must be filling your mind with dreadful thoughts."

Now it was Antonio's turn to look flabbergasted and he frowned at the pot. "Francis the candlestick told me the exact same thing yesterday!" He pouted. "It's not my fault if I've lived a sheltered life from 'the truth' if that's what you're saying but I grew up only knowing that Lovino was a selfish man who was mean to a kind fairy and was turned into a monster and he was supposed to die alone because he murdered all his servants and family!" The last couple of words, Antonio had actually sounded livid and the pot stared in realization before nodding in understanding. "I'm sorry then, Antonio…" She sympathetically nudged his side. "I supposed I can't force you to think a certain way but could you try and understand things from a different point of view for me, please?"

Antonio frowned, angry at himself for his outburst. It's not like the poor woman had actually deserved it. Perhaps he was just so confused. Later on, our little Antonio would figure out that he's just a man who can easily be persuaded to make other people feel better.

The brunet nodded and sighed before hopping off of the counter and turning to the woman. "…maybe I will…" He quietly answered and then he smiled charmingly at the girl. "On his own, Lovino does in fact seem like a sweet person but… Well- I just need to get other people's opinions out of my head and think for myself…"

The woman liked his response and nodded to the boy. "Thank you, Antonio." She said again and turned her back to him once more before Antonio remembered something. "A-Ah…" The tanned man slowly stated and she turned her attention back to him. "Um… W-What's your name?"

"My name's Elizaveta…" She grinned and then turned to the cabinet. "And the boy you met earlier is actually Lovino's little brother Feliciano- although I take care of him before it breaks Lovino's heart that his brother's been turned into porcelain because of him…"

Antonio blinked and another bit of info sunk into his heads at the words. So Lovino had a brother?... Well that was shocking- to say the least. Antonio had always thought that there had only been one heir to the castle throne although… Antonio had thought a lot of things that apparently weren't true- And then the last part of her words! A wave wrenched through his stomach upon thinking of what it'd be like if he was the cause of turning- let's say- his mother and the rest of his friends into enchanted objects…

_That's so sad… _He frowned to himself. _Lovino must be so lonely now… Oh my god- he must be so sad~!_

Well our Spanish friend wouldn't live for that! As long as he would stay here, he should try and make Lovino feel better!

Clearly- it seemed easier to do in his head than actual execution.

Antonio turned on his heel and went to leave. "Thanks for the information Elizaveta." He smiled. "I'll be seeing you again…" He whispered and then sighed. "I'm kind of doomed to since I'm prisoner here for the rest of my days…"

An 'are you serious' look fell onto the woman's facial expression. "Antonio… Let me tell you something: Lovino normally doesn't keep prisoners. Most likely, he'll keep you around here for a couple of days and then tell you to leave." She shook her head. "He's just teasing you like he did all the others."

Malachite eyes dropped, almost feeling like a child again where he didn't understand anything and just stared at Elizaveta for a long while. "…Are you sure Lovino doesn't get lonely? I mean- after seeing all those people and then having them leave…"

He didn't receive a response.

Silence overcame the room and Antonio thought of something else, a little more important to ask. "…Is there any way to break the curse?"

"Um…" He seemed to catch her off guard and for a moment, something flashed in her eyes before she all too quickly shook her head. Antonio dismissed it however, thinking it was natural for all his depressing questioning. "N-No… N-Not that we know of anyways… If there was, I assure you we would've tried it long ago."

"Oh…" Green eyes drifted to the floor and Antonio nodded, processing the information and he flicked his attention back to Elizaveta. "Well uh… Thank you." The brunet was about to leave when something he should've asked earlier came to mind. "Hey um…" He bit his lip. "Where exactly _is _Lovino anyways?"

Bemusement a lit the woman's eyes and she snorted before she shook her head. "I actually can't help you with that…" She frowned. "Lovino doesn't want anyone to bother him so I'm sworn to secrecy in not telling."

"Oh…" W_ell- that was certainly depressing. _Antonio thought before finally waving the woman and Feli goodbye and stalked off back through the halls- trying to think where Lovino could be!

_Well… _Antonio paused himself in the hall to think for a moment. Granted, 'a moment' was more about ten minutes considering he's not the fastest thinker in the world before an idea popped up. "The West Wing!" He grinned. "Lovino mentioned it yesterday- he said it was in ruins and that sounds suspicious!"

Needless to say, out little farmer boy ran off in that direction immediately. Sure it took awhile to navigate through the house and into the Western side of the establishment but when he did, Antonio was actually surprised to that it was in ruins. As he walked down the halls, there was a very dim amount of light only coming in through windows and cracked mirrors next to torn paintings. Perhaps Lovino had been serious when he said it was in ruins? A door at the end of the hall would be the brunet's reply.

A dull creak surrounded the vacant room as he moved apart a slab of wood that would've been a door had it not been ripped off its hinges and Antonio stepped further into the darkness. It was hardly possible to see in this room and Antonio almost ended up tripping over a table. Yelping and keeping himself steady, Antonio fell against his wall when a flash of maroon caught his eyes. Glancing up, he saw that he'd fallen into a painting on the wall. He could make out three figures: a slightly sickly looking but very strong looking middle aged brunet with a stubbly beard and curls sticking out from all parts of his hair, a small little child with light brown hair and bright brown eyes and someone Antonio couldn't see because the fabric had been clawed up. The brunet bit his lip and went to go and reline up the torn parts of the canvas to finish the picture when a flash of red made him turn his head.

Antonio blinked when he found himself looking at a _floating _red carnation with dark red petals in full bloom and tinges of white at the side underneath a large glass dome. His green eyes stared unbelieving at the sight and he slowly forgot where he was and inched closer to the object. It was just… It was so pretty to Antonio. He grinned like a child as he finally reached the flower and went to take the cover off of the plant when a loud growl came from behind him and Antonio found himself weightless and off the floor before crashing into a chair.

A pained cry came from him lungs and his head met the back of wood, leaving Antonio momentarily blind from agony. "DON'T DO THAT!" A familiar voice screamed at him. "I mean, god! You could have just killed us all you dumbass!"

The brunet weakly lifted his head up to meet enraged golden eyes that softened upon meeting his own and Lovino turned his back to him as Antonio got up from the chair, wincing all over and a dull ringing still coursing through his head with every pulse of his heart. "I-I'm sorry Lovino…" Antonio whispered, gulping and feeling way too much like a mouse for his own good. "I-I was just curious and-"He glanced up to see Lovino giving him a death glare, the man currently clutching the vase of the flower like his life depended on it. "...W-What's so important about that flower?..."

Antonio watched the red haired boy bite his lip and sigh, seemingly trying to calm himself down. After awhile, he whispered, "Look it's... it's none of your business." The boy grumbled and looked away again. "Just... Go away. From this room, from this castle... Anything, just go away and leave me alone."

The Spaniard's eyes widened as the words fell from the boy's lips. "B-But I..-" Lovino turned his head sharply and irises set aflame bore into his body. Antonio, feeling threatened, immediately backed away and gulped. "..Thank you for letting me stay here for the small time it was... I won't forget my time here, Lovino."

Lovino watched as a smile made its way, the prince not thinking it was quite right to see a smile on the face of a man so sad and watched the brunet leave his room and he fell against his table. He felt like deadweight and felt so horrible now. He carefully clutched the sides of his head with his paws and then proceeded to scowl at himself for being a moron. His time was nearly up and that was probably the last human he'd ever see… Could he have not at least treated him with kindness for a little bit longer- even if he wasn't the one- instead of blowing up in his face?

A thought of running after him entered the male's mind but he quickly shoved it down. Now that was just desperate and not that he wanted to actually act _nice. _And let me tell you dearies, Lovino Vargas is not one to act on desperateness.

Still clutching the damned flower, Lovino heard the slamming of gates before looking out the balcony of his room to see the poor Spaniard walk away. The boy then proceeded to scowl and shake his head. "No!" He growled at himself. "Y-You don't need people like him… You don't need anyone…-"

Lovino blinked and his scowl darkened when a fiery glow came from his wooden doors. He sighed, slowly walking away from the balcony and his carnation and then towards the bed that lay in the far east of the room with a torn canopy and tousled sheets where he'd been resting before… Antonio came in. "Did I toss you into a pond?" He growled at Francis all knowingly. "What the hell do you want?"

The candlestick just continued to frown. "You sound sad…" He stated and hopped as much as he could to the side of his house master's bed. "…Where's Antoni-"

A loud snarl came from the bed and the wolf man seethed down at his former servant. "I let him go!" Francis fell backwards in astonishment from the boy's random anger. Though, the huffed breaths of rage immediately died down at his servant's frightened expression and the nineteen year old curled back up on his bed sheets. "L-Look…This was a stupid idea, keeping him here anyways... I don't want to hurt anyone and keep them prisoner like I am..." He sighed, loneliness far too distinguishable in his voice. "I just-"

Francis was about to answer when both of them heard a gut wrenching noise that forced Lovino his feet instantly. There, off in the distance, Lovino heard all too common howls from in the edge of the forest. "….Did you hear that?" He whispered though Francis could never get an answer when the candlestick watched his master run off.

The blue eyed candle could only blink, then stare in the wake of the busted open and already broken doors as a blur of the red wolf bolted down the stairs. Then, after a long while, the candle smirked and shook his head. "…Maybe there really is something there." And with that, our mysterious candelabra Frenchman hopped away to see how the rest of these events would unfold.

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**(A/N: And here's the third installment of our wonderful story! xD Sorry to YourAverageStalker but I already planned on Arthur being a feather duster- it seemed to settle better in my mind. Also: Most of this story was written to the music of 'El Tango de Roxanne' from Moulin Rouge- it's a very Spanish song and it always gets me into a Spamano mood. xD You should listen to it too. OU O Anyhow- Here we are~ …Chapter three… yup… Chapter four will actually be out before next Sunday as will Chapter five~… Or it should be anyways… -nods-**

**Enjoy the story and always review my dearies~)**


	4. There May be Something There

**(DISCALIMER: All content of this story belongs to their rightful owners.)  
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4. There may be something there  
_…If you would just sit still this wouldn't hurt!__.__…  
_

Everyone had been busy for the last hour. It had started being a seemingly simple day and now all of Lovino's servants had crammed themselves into the old sitting room. Elizaveta, being the teapot she was, boiled up some water and got Feli to get her a bowl. Arthur, reluctantly, got several clean rags and of course, Francis could only keep the water hot without doing anything perverted- perverted enough for a candlestick anyways. The only sounds were those of curses and the crackling of a fire.

"Fuck!" The loudest voice yowled in pain and Feli flinched at seeing his brother's anger. "Damnit you son of a bitch! That hurts, you bastard!"

A huff came from Antonio as he took a rag from his side and dipped it into the bowl of hot water. "Lovino," He scowled, look back up at the man. "If you would just sit still this wouldn't hurt!"

Lovino scowled down at the brunet and proceeded to cross his furry arms of his bare chest, careful to avoid the found currently near his neck. "If you had not have attracted those fucking wolves I wouldn't _be _hurt!" The Prince stubbornly turned his head and continued to yowl as the steaming hot rag come in contact with his flesh again. He looked through clenched teeth and gold irises to see Antonio's face, clearly not one of being amused. "If you had not have told me to leave I wouldn't have run into the wolves in the first place."

The beast continued to look over the Spaniard's features, not liking how there was actually a serious look on the same exact man who almost got himself killed earlier today. "Now can you hold still for me, por favor?"

Rolling his eyes, Lovino reluctantly snuggled back into his chair, exposing his neck and the utmost top of his chest for Antonio to clean at it. He blamed the heat currently on his cheeks from the transition of cold weather to the hot rag the malachite eyed man was dragging across his fur. "You're such a bastard…" He mumbled with little feeling and quietly remembered something. "You got hurt too, idiot. Shouldn't you be more worried about that right now?"

The wine crowned man had been relating to the fact that seeping through Antonio's shirt right now were large patches of blood on his stomach. When Lovino had finally gotten to him, the wolves had already scratched his stomach open. "I'll be fine," He clearly lied. "You're more important right now…"

Lovino looked to the side of his body to see his friends and family stare at him as Antonio continued to work on his neck. Even they knew full well he wasn't going to be okay. Honestly- Lovino had just been scratched at his chest and the wolf had bitten his neck but that was where most of the fur was at on his body! Antonio had the bottom part of his shirt torn off and the wolves back paws dug into his stomach and the beast managed to push him into a tree and scratch up Antonio's cheek to the point where four long lines of red continued to flow down his chin. Clearly Antonio needed more medical attention!

"No, I'm not." Lovino tried again, glaring at the man. "You're worse off than I am so you should get medical attention first bas-"

"But Lovino!" He interrupted again, scowling. "I can handle a wound like this because I was taught about treating wounds- especially because I worked for a Duke who would constantly get into a fight with someone. I can take care of this myself and you were the one who went out of your way to save myself…" He paused. "That wolf could've bit your neck open… P-Plus, you were the one who told me to leave in the first place but you came back…" A smile made its way on the idiot's face. "And that… means a lot Lovino. So by letting this be my thanks, I'm taking care of your wounds for you, okay?"

The Beast was going to protest again when a cough and glare came from Arthur the feather duster and Lovino stared at him before letting Antonio continue to dag and pull away at the gash. Before long, all of the blood had stopped flowing and now sat in a half-bloodied rag in Antonio's hands. The owner, satisfied, grinned and pulled back. "There…Now if only I had some bandages…"

"Hold on," Lovino continued for him. "Elizaveta can you-"

It all happened in such a weird way that absolutely no one expected but within one moment Antonio had been on the ground in front of him and now he was _shirtless, in his lap_ and_ bandaging his neck up with his shirt! _And to his mortification, he not only heard two shocked gasps of happiness from his little servant friends but he found himself staring at the tanned pectorals in front of him. He never thought he would ever see someone who was so dumb and could barely fight for himself have such an amazing body.

Again, the warmth all over his body was clearly coming from the heat in the room. It had nothing to do with Lovino finding this situation attractive at all- oh Dio non.

"W-Wha.." The red head tried to speak but Antonio seemed hell bent on fixing up Lovino's wounds, forcing Lovino's head to stay down so he didn't have to look at the man's face. Although, what his eyes did land on wasn't a better sight: the wound had already started to fester up and clods of dirt and frostbite glittered about the tanned flesh. As soon as he felt a hum as satisfaction from the Spaniard and the final knot was made around the bandage, Lovino used his hackles to push Antonio to the floor.

"What the hell was that for?!" He exclaimed, standing up from his chair and almost making the poor piece of furniture fall to the floor. "You don't just randomly sit in people's laps without their permission!"

Antonio didn't seem to realize what he did wrong and sat up before Prince Lovino with a confused look on his face. He then sighed in defeat. "Lo siento Lovino…" He rubbed his neck. "I… should've told you what I did first…" Somehow, even when seeing he did something wrong the idiot seemed to smile. "A-At least your wound is better…" Lovino's eyes twitched when he heard a giggle from the man. "And you look like you have a white bow around your neck now!"

Golden irises twitched in their sockets and Lovino prayed to god that Elizaveta and Francis would stop laughing because this was not a funny situation! The lycan mentally prepared a speech for Antonio to be reprimanded by when to his small shock and disdain, some blood started to creep out of his abdomen. A pained whimper escaped the brunet's lips as he tried to get up. "I-I told you, Lovi…" He started again and Lovino momentarily wondered what the fuck a 'Lovi' was. "I can take c-care of it my-"

Now it was Antonio's turn to be surprised. Using his newfound Beast abilities, Lovino picked up the Spaniard and put him down the chair before sitting down in front of him.

Lovino Vargas could now admit there was a blush on his face.

"L-Look," Lovino took a dark maroon paw and grabbed a new cloth, putting it in the still hot water and wrung it out. "I-It may have been your own d-damn fault in the first place for getting us attacked but…" He began to wipe at the wound, careful not to make any more with his claws. "Y-You uh… You… b-bandaged up my wounds… s-so I should do the same for you…" The stammer was quiet but when he looked up at Antonio he seemed to understand and a sad smile lay on his lips before he silently let Lovino continue. It was awhile before anyone said anything else. "Hey Lovi?"

Lovino had been swiping at the puss and dirt on the second scratch mark of Antonio's stomach. "It's Lovino. Call me that again and I'll tear your dick off," He first uttered before nodding him to continue.

"….Si, um… Lovino?" The lycan rolled his eyes before staring at oddly hopeful malachite ones. "I um… Does this mean… I can stay here?"

The words seemed to weigh down on Lovino like stones on his chest, reminding him of a form of torture he learned about once in England. At first, he thought the answer would be a simple one and then followed by some sort of curse word to the dumb ass but its effect had gotten him troubled. If he said yes, then that means the Spaniard would most likely stay with him and maybe, _just maybe-_

_Non, _he scowled himself before finishing the sentence. _This bastard can stay here all he wants to be- that damn pixie's curse isn't going to go. He's way to too dumb and there's no way he could break it in time anyways…_

The Italian was going to then answer with 'No' but then re-thought more of his train of thought. It would have been completely pointless for him to go and save Antonio from the wolves then and what _should've happened _was that a new meal was given to the wolves for a change. Lovino would then sit in his castle, making sure no one else came in and he could be alone until his time was up and the carnation died. Antonio would be dead and his mother could go and do whatever the hell it was they did- probably talk to her husband about getting another child or something and everything would be okay, right?

Oddly enough, the thought of sending the idiot away didn't appeal to the lycan either. He sighed before finally deciding on something else to ask.

"Don't you have your own family to go back to?" He warned as he dipped the rag in the water, now dyed red from the blood left behind. "I mean… Your mother seemed pretty upset and… you could go back to her, y'know? You don't have to stay in this castle for the rest of your days." _Or until I- you know- _die_, _Lovino bitterly countered at himself.

He watched as the smiling expression of Antonio changed into one of sadness and he thought for a moment, wincing as Lovino began to pull at a really big gash before answering. "Well," He started, gripping the arms of the chair as Lovino worked. "I think it'd be better if I didn't… My mom's life will probably be better if she thinks I'm kept prisoner here… I mean-" He couldn't help but watch as the man's poor eyes began to glaze over with tears. "I'd love to go back to her but she and my friend Gilbert and his brother Ludwig are the only reasons. No one else accepts me there. They think I'm dumb or that I'd never hold a good marriage…" Lovino sat and watched as a tear fell from Antonio's eye. "No one but those three really want me to be there. I can't work, they say, because I'm way too carefree to hold down a job and not once has any girl wanted to be with me, even if I'm being polite to her and I try to be as understanding as I can. There's just-"

Lovino pressed hard against the Spaniard's stomach, causing him to yowl in pain and more blood to come forth but for him to quiet down. "I'm sure you're accepted there," He seethed. "You probably just take it for granted…" He gripped tightly against the rag. "You at least can go out in public and not be seen as a monster. You can go out there, even if people think you're annoying. You don't have to stay here and be cursed and have to lock yourself away all the time even after you did abso-fucking-lutely nothing wrong…"

Just your typical, everyday, soul searching bar talk.

Antonio looked through watery eyes before calming down and slipping from his chair and gently hugged the man in front of him. He held on against Lovino's paws tightly so he wouldn't storm up and try and get away from him. "You know," He muttered quietly into the male's fur. "I also wanted to stay here so I could learn more about you."

Lovino's breath caught in his throat. "You…" He stammered. "Y-You're kidding me… I-I call bullshit…"

The man shook his head into the crook of his neck, leaving Lovino to stare down at him with horror stricken eyes and a face that could match the complexion of, dare he say it, a tomato.

"No," He shook his head again. "I want to learn more about the guy who is Lovino Vargas- not the selfish Prince who was cursed by a fairy after being incredibly violent with her and murdered all of his servants and kills all of the prisoners who walk within his castle grounds. I want to know about the real you, Lovino."

When Antonio pulled back to look at him with smiling eyes, Lovino had no room to say he was joking any more. Though the man was stupid, he was really fucking determined on staying here in his castle.

Antonio's next words couldn't have ruined the moment any further.

"Lovi…" He scrounged up his face for a second before pausing. "When was the last time you took a bath?"

Somehow, laughter immediately fluttered and filled up the entire room, snorts and giggles from the only other four beings in the space and the other two being completely serious. Lovino snarled, face turning an even darker shade of crimson and scowled at his past servants to get them to shut up. He really wished he could fucking move but he noticed when his claws were, near Antonio's still open flesh wound, and decided against it. He's been pinned.

"About a month…" he mumbled quietly before heatedly starting again. "But what does that have to do with anything?" Antonio stared calculatingly at the Beast before continuing. "Well considering you're part dog and the smell lingers around you a lot more now, especially if you say it's been a month, I figured you should really bathe yourself more often. Plus it might help if-"

"Well what the fuck does it matter to you?!" He roared. "I can do whatever the hell I want around here seeing as how I own this damn castle and you have no right to tell when I should and shouldn't bathe and- WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!"

Antonio sighed, holding down the kicking and screaming Lovino and picking him up bridal style against his chest. "Elizaveta?" His words somehow made it to the teapot that, somehow, had a trail of red going down a little ways away from where her nose would be. "Could you take me to the nearest bathtub and help me warm up some water?" He then playfully snorted, looking down at the furious golden eyed boy. "Plus, I think it might help our little puppy's wounds a bit, don't you think?"

Oh that hurt. That really hurt; But Lovino wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Oh he'd get payback… Someday. He'd just have to think of the perfect way on how. Instead, he clung closely around the Spaniard's neck in defeat as Elizaveta more than happily lead them to the West Wing where his bathtub was. "Damnit bastard…" He mumbled as they turned a corner. "I'm not a Princess…"

"But you _are_ a prince~" The Spaniard happily cooed and nudged open a door with his foot so he could get to Lovino's personal bathtub.

Lovino did not find that fucking smirk on his face amusing. At. All.

"Fine." He grunted and waited until they finally entered a bath room and then quickly clawed his way out of Antonio's grasp, his tell tale scowl clearly visible. "I'll take that stupid fucking bath but YOU are going to get the hell out of here! I don't need anyone's damn help taking a bath!"

Antonio watched the lycan scramble around the room, frowning some more as he began to boil some water to put in the tub. "But…" He started before seeing the man was completely determined to have his way and sighed. _But he's going to need a lot of help washing out his fur… It'll take hours for him to do it by himself, _The Spaniard thought quietly before addressing the Italian again. "B-But you're injured!" He lamely countered, pointing to the slightly stained red bow around Lovino's neck and chest. "Plus- I'm used to seeing other people naked because I had to clean the Duke and some of his other servants when I worked at his house so it's not a big deal if that bothers you, okay? So can you please let me help you?"

Lovino slowly turned his head to look back at the Spaniard, Antonio not fully understand why he was receiving the harshest glare the Prince had ever given him. "Does it look like I give a crap who you've helped in the past with this?" The red head pointed to his face. "Because I don't! It doesn't matter if you're 'used to seeing people naked'!" Antonio visibly flinched as Lovino's voice got louder. "I don't WANT you to see me naked so get the hell out of here!"

The brunet stared for a long moment at the lycan before sighing and nodding. _I wouldn't want to stress him too much_..., he mentally warned himself. _He's already doing a lot for me but I still think he might need hel-_

As Antonio went to turn to the door, a curse fell from his mouth as burn licked up all the sides of his wounds, having turned the wrong way. "Merda!" He gritted his teeth, hoping Lovino didn't hear. After all, our little Spaniard was more of a loyal dog than Lovino, the actual werewolf Beast was; always loyal to one's master but never showing pain because they always have to be happy and then they get hip dysplasia you don't know about~

However, Lovino is clearly not as impressed by the act and scowls at the brunet."Elizaveta?" He mumbled to the tea pot who immediately jerked her head. "Igen, Lovino?"

"Can you make sure the idiot doesn't kill himself and takes a bath himself...?" Lovino ordered and glared when he saw a defiant look in her eyes. _What the hell's her problem? _He equally glared. _It's not that I care about Antonio's health... But I don't want to have to get rid of a dead body…_

Elizaveta, however, wouldn't have none of that and the two continued to argue as thought Antonio wasn't in the room. "Well, Lovino…" She warned in a motherly tone but Lovino knew it'd be lost soon. "It would save a lot of bath water you know a-and-" She then gestured to the wound on Antonio's stomach that was bleeding more than it should have. "Also... It'll take awhile for Antonio to get to a bath in this injured state so why don't you just let him?!" The Hungarian huffed. "You're both groan men!"

Lovino deadpanned, staring at the pot for the longest time before hissing at his former servant. "Elizaveta, I don't want him in the bath with me!" _It was bad enough when I had the bathe Feliciano! _He countered to himself but the woman was relentless with continuing to glare at him. Lovino soon gave up before blushing, groaning and glaring at Antonio. "Ugh, fine! Get your ass in here." The lycan directed Antonio's eyes to one side of the tub. "You stay over here, understand? No crossing this side..."

Malachite irises blinked in surprise and looked down to see the teapot grin- and did she swoon for a second there?- before hopping out the door and shutting it, leaving them alone. Antonio returned his attention to Lovino again. "Gracias, Lovi…" The tanned man then began to strip away his pants before looking up to see he was still facing Lovino, blushed himself and then turned around. _Forgot he needs his own privacy… _

The Prince nearly palmed his face at how moronic the man was before turning himself and going to unbutton his own pants. _Fucking shit for brains… _He mumbled before, blushing and letting his pants fall to the floor, completely naked. He quickly glanced to the side to see Antonio still turned around before slinking into the hot bath water. _This sucks…_

Antonio, pants already having fallen to the floor, then turned around to see Lovino already in the bathwater and slowly made his way in. His eyes fluttered open as more pain attacked his stomach and the hot water burned his cuts. _Fuck, this hurts! _He mentally yowled. It took a fairly long time before either said anything to each other and by that point, the blood had stopped coming from Antonio's wound and he could relax in the large basin in peace. Even though, silence doesn't settle with our little twenty-one year old Spanish boy and sat up before glancing at Lovino again. "Hey, Lovino?"

"What?" He growled, having busied himself with staring at the ceiling. "Can you...," He fiddled with his fingers. "T-tell me what was with that carnation I found earlier in your room?"

At first, the answer was instant. "I can tell you it's none of your damn business..." Antonio frowned at Lovino's abrasive tone before seeing the man sit up and continue to glare at him. "That carnation is something important to me, understand? You don't need to know anything about it."

"Oh…" The Spaniard looked at his palms beneath the murky bath water and frowned. The two went into silence again before Antonio saw a set of unused bath oils and the situation dawned on him again. "You're not even cleaning yourself!"

In a tone that would've made Elmira proud, Antonio glided over to Lovino before taking a rag, covering it in a random scent before scrubbing Lovino's arm. "By 'taking a bath' I didn't just mean sit in hot water." He chided.

Antonio watched the prince's complexion go instantaneously red and he thrust the man away, still clutching the rag. "I can clean myself! What part of 'stay on your side' didn't you understand you idiot?!" Antonio pouted, but smiled again in succession when Lovino started to actually clean himself. "If you can't do that then get out."

"I get it Lovino…" In a rare act of Antonio, the man playfully rolled his eyes before grabbing him own towel and washed himself off- even if this entire scene made the bath he took earlier this morning seem pointless. After a long while, Antonio deemed he and Lovino clean and stretched out his hands. He noted that he now smelled like daisies. "Well- I'm getting out now~" He pointed to his puny hands and went to go stand up but then blinked and looked around. "Um… Lovi? Where are your towels?" The man could only see the rags he and Lovino both used for cleaning themselves and those weren't large enough to wrap around his hips!

Lovino didn't seem fazed by this and continued to sit in the laps of the warm bath water, humming to himself after cleaning off all of his fur. "You have to call for Elizaveta to get you some towels..." He said boredly. "She may take a few minutes, but she's good about being quick..."

"Oh…" The Spaniard bit his lip after thinking the answer must've been so obvious and Lovino thought him idiotic before calling for Elizaveta and asking her for the towels. He then proceeded to sit in the bath water and wait. _He looks so content for such a lonely man…- _Something went off in Antonio's mind at that moment and malachite irises bore a calculating stare into Lovino's lycan form. Maybe that carnation had something to do with that curse? It was, after all, _floating _when he found it. Did that not scream magical?

Then, something else popped into Antonio's mind after remembering Elizaveta's words earlier that day and he said it before he could take the words back. "Is there really no way to break the spell, Lovino?"

Antonio's eyes widened when Lovino's head shot up and he growled at the brunet, forcing Antonio to sit down on the floor of the tub and stare into the man's golden orbs. "There's a way, but with how crazy it is there might as well not be a way to break the curse." Antonio blinked, shocked to hear a different answer from Lovino but his answer was dashed away yet again but Lovino's pessimistic behavior. "It's none of your concern, however, so just leave it alone."

The nineteen year old was left in shock at the next man's notion. Antonio's green eyes immediately flared up and Lovino found his back pinned to the tub as the tanned man pressed against his shoulders, _growling _at him. "It is my concern!" He barked. "I want to help you break this spell Lovino- I don't care what it takes, okay?! ..." The man's rage died down and his expression of anger turned back to being the soft and caring face Lovino had gotten used to looking at. "I just…" He stared at the water, as if it would solve his problem. "…I don't want to see someone like you be so miserable all the time. You're not a monster and you don't deserve to look like one. So will you let me help, por favor?" Antonio watched Lovino's eye twitch before bracing himself for the anger to come- which it did.

Antonio just stared as he watched the man stand up from the water and storm out of the tub, grabbing his clothes. "I'm NOT miserable!" He scowled to Antonio, pulling on his pants while he stilled was stunned by Lovino's anger. "I actually happen to quite like not having anyone bother me, but then you turned up! So stop worrying about things that don't involve you and leave me alone!"

Antonio was left with room to a apologize as he watched the male storm off in the other direction, slamming the door shut behind him. For the longest time, Antonio could still hear the ringing of the slamming door in his ears and then, abruptly, the man slapped a hand to his scalp and gripped it tightly in anger, ignoring the stinging pain erupting all over his skin. "Damnit!" He cursed loudly before sinking under the water of the tub.

* * *

**(A/N: FANSERVICE! **

**Even if you're copying off a Disney story, it'll still be there. Q UQ**

**By the by? Poor Toni! Q AQ He just wanted to help break the curse~**

**So I skipped the scene where there was actual wolf fighting, so what? xD It only turned out to be about 600 words when I first wrote it though and since that's pretty pathetic for a fight scene, I figured I'd save you the hassle of reading something horribly bad and let you picture what happened in your own way. Besides, I think it draws you in more~ O UO I had fun writing from Lovino's point of view this time- Mostly because I thought it would flow better this way. **

**Also: Am I the only one who thinks that if the two could actually tolerate each other, they'd make a fabulous espionage group of helping spread the yaoi? xD I mean- sure… that's what Japan's there for but- never mind.**

**Anyhow- Yeah… The fifth chapter won't be here until December 24****th**** or 25****th**** because it's the Christmas special~ xD If you guys actually have suggestions for that, it would be appreciative~ Also: What do y'all want Santa Finland to bring you for Christmas?~ Leave it in a review and let me know how you like the story or not like the story!**

**((This is a fucking long A/N…))**

**Toodles darlings~!) **


	5. And Now for a Very Special Message

Hi folks; here at Fan-fiction, we like to have a good laugh as much as the next guy. But there's a time where the laughter must stop- and that's usually when somebody dies. Recently, a treasured member of our cast passed away. Its name was 'Antonio and the Beast'

Hospitalized Heartless: It meant so much to all of us. It made us laugh; it made us cry. I can't believe it's actually gone.

Elmira: When I first heard that 'Antonio and the Beast' had died, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was like family to me!

Gilbert: I was with it when 'Antonio and the Beast' passed away. The writer had been struggling to come up with new ideas for the Christmas special and well...one thing lead to another.

…

Gilbert: Toni and Lovi- Have you been drinking!?

Lovi and Toni: -hanging onto each other- We can't remember because we're soooo drunk!

Gilbert: Hey,- don't run with those scissors!

Lovi and Toni: You're not the boss of us!...OW!

Gilbert: Oh no...they're dead.

…

Elizaveta: What happened was just terrible. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to _my_ stories!

Hospitalized Heartless: And so, we commemorate this monologue to 'Antonio and the Beast'. Good night, sweet prince and may a flight of angels sing thee to thy rest.

**In loving memory of Antonio and the Beast  
Chapter One – Chapter Four**

* * *

**(A/N: Okay- I'm just bullshitting all of you. xD I recently noticed yesterday I hadn't updated in forever and I thought I should make an updated, albeit a silly one, to show that I'm actually still alive and in the process of working on this!**

**If you can tell me where the hell this monologue is from, I will write a one shot for you. I'll PM the first person who gets it right. All you have to do is leave what you think it's from in a review xD Then we can talk over PMs about what it shall be~**

**It's halfway written though! So don't you fret~**

**…Figured I'm only writing the one time I get a snow day…**

**Kudos!)**


	6. An Enchanted Christmas I

**(DISCALIMER: All content of this story belongs to their rightful owners.)  
**

* * *

5. An Enchanted Christmas  
_…Oh yes- Shield his virgin ears.…_

The day was Christmas Eve; Antonio had been working around the clock all day to try and get the castle ready in time. Over the few short weeks after the wolf incident, he was almost on a full road to recover except for a minor twinge in his abdomen once and awhile. Life had settled down a lot, making mundane castle days boring until Antonio actually started to count the days while he was here (which was hard to tell because it was dark twenty-four seven) and realized that Christmas was coming up tomorrow! Oh was he so excited! The Spaniard grinned to himself, looking around the large castle ballroom Lovino had finally gotten around to showing him as he looped some more garland around a pillar. He was surprised he could even found garland around here, considering Feli had to tell him about it and lead him through some long, dark (and scary!) corridors to find Christmas decorations.

Antonio frowned upon thinking of his erm-… 'master' of the house, having remembered Lovino's own actions for the past few weeks. After the bath incident, the two hadn't talked properly until another two days after and even then, their words were trivial: "'Mornin'." Or "Your wound better?". He didn't mean to make things so awkward between the two of them and Lovino still had yet to tell him what the importance of that carnation in his room was.

The brunet carefully tied the ends of the garland together with a red sash he'd been cutting from some spool rolls he managed to find. He was suddenly very grateful his mother had taught him how to sew when he was a young age. Originally it was so he could tailor his clothes without the two of them having to spend money and done in hopes that Antonio would've found a wife before he had to use the skill. But alas, our Antonio is 'prisoner' in the castle that is Lovino Vargas' home. Malachite eyes flicked over his handy work and noted that all of the pillars were now looped in colorful green and red. Feeling a little bit of happiness from that, Antonio looked over near the far west wall to see a grandiose clock that chimed for every hour. From what he understood, it was still fairly early in the day- just after one o' clock- and he figured he would have to hurry the rest of his decorating if he wanted to adorn the rest of the castle and find a Christmas tree before the end of the day. Although, even if he didn't finish all of today's tasks by midnight, he could still see hope and prosper in having Lovino smile at his attempt to brighten up the castle.

However, there were still some things that Antonio had yet to learn and this was clearly one of them.

Fixing up the nicely washed vest he had titivating his chest, Antonio went to move on to coat the rest of the castle in the fanciful material, grabbing a fairly lightweight crate that the Christmas decorations had been stored in. He couldn't help but look around the ballroom as he slowly neared the exit, smiling at the beauty of it all. There was a large grand piano; apparently another one of Lovino's 'servants' but he never talked, white gold pillars and walls painted with Madonnas of all sizes. There was a glass chandelier hanging right above his head with candles flickering all the while, making light dance all over the ballroom. Antonio had been so mesmerized that he hadn't noticed the door opening.

Lovino, on the other hand of this _glorious_ day, knew _exactly_ of what today's events entailed. He had been a beast, even a human, for so long that his mind knew just when the most dreaded holiday of the year began: Christmas. Ah, yes; every year around this time, Lovino was forced to think back upon how his actions of nothingness caused an annoying little pixie the change his form and make him a monster. He was forced to remember a gala he had held that night, little Feliciano running around and servants like Francis and Elizaveta dressed in wonderful materials and how after one single thing, his whole world was torn into darkness.

* * *

For the sake of a more picturesque story, let us go back to a time where there was a new soon-to-be king. The Vargas' family was renowned aristocracy even though their family lineage had only been around for three generations. It started off with Lovino's grandfather, Romulus Vargas, who took the throne through marriage of a woman in Spain and conjoined two parts of Italy and Spain together. The matrimony, however, almost ended in the death of the countries' new king and Romulus' first wife was executed after an attempt to take the throne. Romulus, having no other heir to surpass him was asked to find a new wife to at least bear a child of his. Through many tries and attempts, he failed only to receive a daughter. Later she would be known as Queen Juno and would bear his two grandchildren.

The age difference of the two was rather ridiculous but none the less, loved. Lovino and Feliciano were almost eleven years apart but it was decided some time after Lovino had turned nine that Juno would need a back-up heir in the event that something dreadful happened to the boy. Although, some speculate the reasoning behind this was more for the reason of no one wanting a brat like Lovino for a king. Lovino's father, King Julian, was rarely ever spoken about because the coward ran off and left, stealing many precious jewels and other castle luxuries and two children to never know their father. It was speculated he committed suicide shortly after the robbery and the jewels have never been found. Despite the Italian's less than lovely upbringing and having to prove himself after his grandfather died, people began to have a newfound respect for him. Servants such as Elizaveta who was only a year younger than Lovino would be the first to start seeing him as a 'man'. She had been given to the castle after an arranged marriage between she and another castle servant ended in disaster and she was given the role to take care of Feliciano since Queen Juno had died several years prior to Feliciano's birth. Elizaveta would be known as the closest thing to Lovino's mother.

That day had been dark as night had fallen plenty of hours ago, leaving the whole establishment in a cover of purple except for the main attraction: the ballroom. Every year, back then, anyone was allowed to attend Prince Lovino's Christmas ball. Chandeliers covered the marble floors with the brightest of all the lights and smack dab in the middle of the room was a magnificent pine tree where a little blur of red was laughing and running around it. "Feliciano!" A voice chided and the little blur looked up at its caller. Elizaveta sighed, putting her hands on the waist of her newly sewn Christmas gown and shook her head before picking up the seven year old. "What am I going to do with you?" She chided.

Feliciano simply smiled at the woman and Elizaveta couldn't help but smile back, nuzzling the boy's forehead. "It's dangerous to be running around like this-" She pointed to all of the other people dancing around them, reminding the little Italian boy of a 'music box' that was in his room. "You might get hurt if you aren't careful around this many people." The child still could only grin and hugged the woman's neck, laughing sweetly. "Alright Miss Elizaveta!"

"Feliciano!" Another voice yelled, but this one was a deep baritone that caught the boy off-guard. "What has he been doing now, Liz?"

Elizaveta could only giggle and pat Lovino's head, earning an even deeper scowl. "Don't do that," He seethed. "Just give my damn brother, okay? I have to go around and introduce myself to a bunch of people and as a prince- he needs to be dragged into this shit too."

The brunette frowned at the male's word choice, glancing back at the younger boy who looked at her absent mindedly. Whether he overheard the curses or cared was unidentifiable. Begrudgingly, Elizaveta handed Prince Lovino his seven year old brother and shook her head. "You know," She chided again. "It's a wonder that Feli hasn't picked up any sort of bad mannerisms from your… actions."

Lovino rolled his eyes, cradling his brother in his arms. "Oh yes- shield his virgin ears." As if to mock his 'caretaker' even more, he did so and caused Feli to look around in befuddlement. Where did all the sound go?!

Elizaveta was clearly not amused and just shook her head. "What are you going to do when you two need to depend on each other, Lovino?" She frowned, olive green eyes training on his gold irises. "Feliciano might be younger than you, but there will be a time when you two are going to have to protect each other- what are you going to do then if you keep treating him like he's some tag along and not someone you need to take care of?"

The red head snorted but it was easy for Lizzy to see her words had sunk in. "Che- Whatever." The Italian prince grumbled but Elizaveta smiled, knowing he had heard. Unclasping his hands from Feliciano's ears, he put the boy on the ground to grab his hand. "Come on, Feli." He tugged the boy forward. "Let's go talk to the other members of the monarchy."

"Okay!" The child chirped, even though Lovino knew he probably had no idea what that meant. The male just shook his head, scowl still on his face as he walked amongst the crowd of dancers. As if he was going to actually start to use Elizaveta's advice…

"Master Lovino?"

The Italian whipped his head, curl bobbing and the scowl present on his face deepening. "What?" He quipped. He wasn't in the mood for this. He would've denied that his grip on his baby brother's hand tightened.

"There's someone at the door and she's requested to see you. I haven't seen her before but she does have an incredible display of… wealth. Perhaps it is-"

"I got it the first time, moron," Lovino watched the servant flinch, the girl shuddering beneath her dress skirts and she could only nod a bit more before scuttling off. Feliciano grabbed the bottom of Lovino's doublet, catching his attention. "I thought grandpa said we shouldn't be mean to pretty ladies…" The child pouted and Lovino couldn't help but roll his eyes again. He couldn't deal with his little brother even bothering him with little things like this. He was a prince damnit _and _an Italian!... He knew how to treat pretty women…

"Feli," He addressed and crouched to the boy's level. "I want you to go and find Elizaveta again, alright? She can show you around to the other guests, I have business to attend to."

The seven-year old pouted before grinning again and leaning forward to peck a kiss on his brother's cheek and giggled when his face and eyes flared. "Go." He ordered again and Feliciano was a little bit too scared for his liking and he scampered off, leaving an enraged (and flustered~) Italian to fend for his own.

The walk towards the front of his castle had never seemed so cold before, so unsettling. The light from the ballroom had dissipated, leaving Lovino to walk under the thin cover of candlestick light. He presumed the reason why it was so cold was because of the lack of heat now or the fact that the door was open. Standing in the arch of the doorway and now pursuing her way into the grand foyer was indeed a girl adorned in gold; too much gold, actually. She wore a gown of the whitest fire and a gossamer shawl covered her ghostly pale skin. Her hair was so short- later, befittingly, called a pixie cut- he noted that an extravagant headdress made up for the lack of blond hair.

All in all, she looked like something every male would've dreamed of. But Lovino couldn't help but feel unnerved. The smile on her face was off in some way.

"Good evening," Oh Dios- her voice was even haughty. As if her display of 'wealth' wasn't enough. "You are Prince Lovino, are you not?"

"You must be new to the kingdom," He kept his voice firm as a ruler should. "But si- I am Lovino Vargas, ruler of Spain."

"'Ruler'?" The woman quipped and she hid a bout of laughter behind a gloved hand, infuriating the male even more. "I thought as a prince you would have to wait for coronation for that sort of… title."

The prince's glower deepened at the woman's haughtiness. He was a ruler damnit! The coronation was supposed to happen within a few weeks anyways… They were… waiting to bury their grandfather's body until spring. Then, Lovino would truly be ruler of Spain and he would have people to take care of.

"Why are you even here?" He muttered, pointing towards the woman. "And just who are you? As far as I'm concerned, I have never seen you before."

Lovino watched as the female procured a red tipped carnation in front of his face, her evil smile softening to one of pity. "I'm not extravagant as I seem," She almost whispered. "And despite all this wealth I seem to carry, I can't offer you much but this carnation. I am in need of shelter for the night. Would you grant me some?"

Gold eyes bore into the blond woman's cerulean ones, his eye lid twitching every once and awhile. It was laughable really. A woman came to the Prince of Spain's- although born Italian damnit!- without even giving her own name and asked for shelter with a carnation! How could he even trust this woman? It wasn't that he wasn't nice enough to oblige the 'poor' girl but how could he trust someone like this! Especially when his grandfather almost lost his life from a pretty woman…

"Tell me your name and maybe I'll consider it." He muttered and the girl blinked before scowling herself, retracting the flower away from him. "Why should I have to tell you my name? It's not like I want to stay for longer than the night, that's all I ask. I don't have to tell you my name."

If the possibility ever arose, the Italian was sure that his would have fell to the floor. What kind of woman had the audacity to barge into his castle, ask for shelter with only some damn flower and not even tell him her name?! Was she just a fucking retard or what? He didn't care if the woman was even poor- he had a damn right to know the woman's name!

"What the fuck is wrong with you, bitch?" He flared, any sort of mannerisms he had ever learned flying out of the window. "You burst into my fucking castle asking for shelter with only that stupid fucking flower and you don't even tell me your name? Get out!" He roared.

It would be painfully ironic that he did just 'roar' in a couple of well planned actions.

The woman continued to flinch as his anger rose, others from the ballroom hearing Lovino's screaming and starting to walk out of the ballroom to wonder what was going on, and the nameless woman backed away. Lovino snarled even more to notice that she was crying as if she had nothing to do with what was going on right now. She tossed the red carnation in the floor in front of him and went to bolt off.

Lovino didn't feel any sort of remorse as he watched her storm off and commotion start up behind him. Sighing, he looked down at the poor flower and went to pick it up. "Now what to do with you?-"

A loud scream erupted from the Prince's mouth as his finger tips barely came in contact with the stem of the flora and everyone watched the spectacle. Elizaveta, stricken with horror, covered Feliciano's ears from his brother's screams a dark purple aura covered his body. However, even this time, Feliciano couldn't be kept away from the horror that was happening. Slowly Elizaveta felt even herself being attacked by the dark aura, watching as others began to flee the castle and the once white and pristine walls became craggily grey and worn for wear. It might have been her own scream or even Feliciano's once she felt her body tighten all at once and her eyes blinded by darkness.

Lovino couldn't stop the pain flooding his veins, feeling his fingernails began forcibly pushed off by something growing from his finger tips. "_I've heard a deal about your attitude, Prince Lovino." _Whether Lovino's eyes fluttered open in recognition of the voice from that bitch earlier or from a new pain erupting from his lower back, he wouldn't know. "_People told me you had a temper that would drive even the most patient and kindest woman crazy and I have seen firsthand just what the was like."_

The male wanted to scream out at the woman but something was holding him down as he felt a tear inducing heat envelope his head and something tugging roughly against his hair. What did he do to deserve this?1 That bitch deserved it! Not him! Her voice continued on anyways as the Italian was left to wallow in the burning and suffocating transformation.

"_I've decided I'm going to turn you into something worth the abhorred temper of yours; a complete and monstrous beast. If you can somehow convince some asinine moron to like you, with that added form, I'll know that I've done wrong and your form will be reverted back to the way it was. You'll be human again as will your closest relatives."_

The heat paused for a moment, leaving a loud rush of cold wind to surround Lovino. He looked around, all the burning gone from his body and he noted that his castle was covered with nothing but darkness. "R-Rela…t-tives?" He noted the way his jaw was more profound, a something wrong with his teeth. They hurt as if someone had forcibly tried to tug his teeth out of his gums. Lovino glanced down, eyes blurry before focusing on something that made him give an ear splitting scream.

His body was matted with fur; arms, legs and chest and where his fingernails and toenails should be lay thick and dark black claws. Feeling skin underneath the hackles of his feet, he presumed he now had paws on his body instead of the flesh of his hand. He almost felt like crying when he reached the top of his head to feel two mats of fur twitch underneath his new hyper sensitive hands: ears. A tear or five escaped his lids when he saw in the hallway mirror that he had truly become a 'complete and monstrous beast' as the woman (could he really call her that anymore?) foretold. His call of relatives was thrown out the window as Lovino scampered with a new found speed and the lycan bolted into his room, sobbing.

All the walls were so deterred and it would have been impossible for Lovino to figure out that it was his own room until the red head's eyes fell up a single canvas up on the wall: A wonderful picture of Lovino and his brother when Feliciano had just turned three and Lovino was a growing fourteen year old boy. He hadn't changed much since then put Lovino couldn't stand to see that canvas any more. Stabbing his new nails into the dry and colored hide, the picture of he and his brother was destroyed as he ripped his human form from the rest of his existence. In a muddled and sobbing heap, he fell to the ground lifelessly.

It didn't help when he turned his swollen eyes to the door, watching it open. At first, he only saw a tiny little curl coming from it but wide brown eyes looked up at him and the tea cup hopped towards him. It only took the ceramic one cuddle to the Italian's arm before Lovino went sobbing even more. "O-Oh Dios…" He choked, cuddling the boy close. "F-Feli…w-What… W-What have I done?"

An overwhelming sense of grief covered the two of them and eventually, Lovino would be cuddled by a feather duster, candelabra, a teapot and eventually a rolling along grand piano. In order, he knew them as Arthur, Francis, Elizaveta and his not well loved advisor, Roderich. "_And don't you forget about that little carnation, child."_

Lovino's eyes flickered up, all five of them watching as a glass vase appeared over the now glowing red flower. Lovino couldn't even bring himself to question things any more as the voice rung out all around them, making Lovino's stomach drop and the rest of them stare from Lovino to the flower and then back to Lovino in absolute horror.

"_That carnation is now your lifeline. If you don't find someone to love you, just for you by the time that last petal drops, I won't just leave the rest of your family and friends in the form they are now but you Lovino…_

_You will die."_

* * *

The two of them collided without much of a much, although there should have been some. Crates flew out of Antonio's hands and fluttered just about everywhere and jingles of Christmas ornaments being flung everywhere surrounded the vast ballroom with noise. Antonio blinked a couple of time before realizing not only all of his Christmas things were gone but Lovino was right in front of him! Happiness filled his mind as he went to relay all the joyful things he thought Lovino would be happy with to him. "Buenos Tardes Lovi!" The brunet couldn't be bothered with the red head's eye twitch. "Do you like what I've done with the place?~"

A complete reoccurance of the first time the met replayed as Antonio felt himself being lifted off the grown and the cold floor hitting his back, knocking the wind out of him. "What the fuck's your problem, bastard?!"

Antonio couldn't say anything as the screams filled the room again, slowly forcing himself to sit up and he watched with fright as gold eyes stared, seemingly, into his soul. "Didn't anyone here fucking tell you I hate Christmas? I want all of these fucking decorations torn down by the end of tonight or so help me God I WILL have you sleeping back in that tower, fucker."

As quickly as he came, the lycan vanished, leaving Antonio on the floor only to frown in confusion.

If he actually felt like making a comedic remark, he'd make a note that Lovino always seemed to be giving out the last word and leaving him like an angry wife who had just given her husband the couch treatment. Slowly but ever so surely, our happy go lucky Spaniard got himself off the floor and sighed.

What was he to do now?

* * *

**(A/N: PLEASE READ BECAUSE IT MAY APPLY TO YOU**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS, JOYEUX NOEL UND FRŐLICHE WEIHNACHTEN! O UO**

**For summeranderson, I hope you got your box of UsUk and Spamano Doujinshi~ Also: The dance won't happen until later- the next chapter actually~ xD **

**I'm sorry to all of you who were expecting a fast update and what have you but I actually have been going through some shit in my life. Not only has dA been pissing me off, not letting me upload any of my drawings- even after making a new account just for that reason- but I came out to my grandmother ((Who I live with)) recently and she thought that, me saying I was a lesbian, was influenced by my computer ((And apparently I wanted to hump all of my friends so I was banned from any contact with them)) and that I'm going through a phase and I have no idea of what the hell I'm talking about. So, the computer was banned from me for several days that turned into weeks and then I had to get back to writing this and… bah! Q AQ And then I had two birthday parties to celebrate for my two friends and after that I had some planning to do for my sister's wedding and then my sister's grandfather died! Then my mother finally got herself a job and they laid her off the next week for something that wasn't even her own fucking fault and… -sighs- Life just… life fucks me over so hard…**

**As for the contest in the last chapter, no one got it! Q AQ It made me sad because it's from one of my favorite Abridged series- Yu-Gi-Oh. xD By LittleKuriboh (CardGameFTW) of course~ It was from episode 8 when Tristan's voice randomly changed (for what reason- I have no idea) and then they had an entire monologue for Tristan's old voice~ **

**I will, however, put out another random contest just for funsies xD The prizes will still be one-shots and what have you but it'll be something different~ **

**As for the curse- poor Lovi! Q AQ I have so much to say but I can't give spoilers~ All I can say is the ending is a good one as will all Disney moves be~ Just… getting there will be erm… 'tough'.**

**And because if I posted up the whole Christmas chapter, it would be super long and I want to divide it a bit because I think it'll flow better. Also just to kind fo show you all- I LIVE!**

**Although, I'm very sad that as every chapter goes by, I lose readers, I wish all of you a very merry day and I hope Santa Finland gave all of you what you asked for! Wait patiently for part two, alright? Unless far more serious events occur- it will happen. I mean… I have it written I just have to proof-read it and shit… )**


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